The Hidden Story Behind King Bluetooth

Briar learns the gripping tale of King Harald Gormsson.

It’s not every day that Briar is overcome by such immense joy that she literally yells, “Praise the Lord!!” in public. But, today was one of those days. Let me catch you up on one of the ultimate sorrows of my life that has plagued me for months.

When I started as a cashier in June of 2023, we were given these hefty black vests to wear over whatever solid-colored clothing we wanted. The vests had several pockets for storage, a convenient spot to put the name tag, and it rarely needed to be washed. Fast forward to March of this year. We were told to all wear a cheap cotton shirt with the store logo on the back because we were kicking off a new store promotion. It wasn’t our favorite, but we were tolerating it because it was only for a month. Come April, several of us started with our old beloved vests only to be told that corporate made the plain(hideously colored) cotton shirts the dress code. I loved my job, but this was heartbreaking. What was I supposed to do when I was cold? You can’t wear a sweatshirt under a t-shirt(although I tried a few times), and you aren’t allowed to put anything on top because that would cover the logo. I wanted to complain SO bad, but I found I didn’t need to because EVERY employee seemed to have something to say about the new shirts. They had to be washed before wearing them, they tore easily, and there were no pockets to store things.

This has been my reality for the past 7 months. Yes, 7 months. Until today. I waltzed into work only to be met with an eye-watering sight. Could it be? Could this really be happening? Nearly 50% of my fellow employees were wearing their vests. The other 50% of us didn’t get the memo. I was so happy that I threw my hands in the air and shouted, “Praise the Lord!!” My team lead said:

“You really like those vests, huh.”

I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow!!

At work today, I did some major pondering and focused on life’s most pressing questions, such as why it is called a watermark and why do I cross my arms all the time?

Watermark

Watermarks were first used in 1282 by Italian paper makers. They were created by altering the thickness of wet paper during production. The watermark was visible when it was held under a light source, and its main purpose was to identify the manufacturer. Today, the term watermark is a way to copyright a video or photo by marking it with a specific logo, making it difficult to steal.

Is it rude to cross your arms?

I stood at the end of my lane, waiting for my next customer. I assumed the most comfortable position, which happened to include crossing my arms and zoning out into nothingness. While standing there, a fellow employee jokingly mentioned that I was intimidating all the customers with my arms crossed like that. This is obviously funny because it is impossible for me to be mistaken as intimidating. It got me thinking. Why do I cross my arms? Why could it be considered rude to do something so simple? Here’s the Google answer:

“It signals a person who is distant, insecure, defensive, or anxious. But Hargrave says that crossed arms have their pluses, too. It's also a comforting (self-soothing) pose that can help you concentrate and stick to a difficult task.”

I suppose I do it when I’m trying to concentrate.

My Google search led me down a rabbit hole of extremity crossing. Next was fingers. Why do we cross our fingers? Where did that originate? 🤞

It turns out that it started as a way for Christians to identify each other when they were being persecuted. They would make the cross symbol with their fingers as a sign of protection. It still means protection in a way. We cross our fingers to protect ourselves from a lie we told or to give us good luck.

Fun facts from A Walk Around the Block. Today’s chapter was about communication over the years.

-In 1986, Stu Mittleman ran 1,000 miles over 11 days and 20 hours, averaging about three hours of sleep every night. Yikes, that is all I have to say to that.

-Wayne Jr. was a carrier pigeon who flew 1,005 miles in one day and 10 hours in 1927.

-In 1878, Emma Nutt was the first female to be hired as a telephone operator. She was said to have known every New England phone number in the directory by heart.

-Cell phones were called cell phones because the land was divided into small areas, or cells, each with its own tower.

-The first mobile handphone weighed 4.4 lbs.

King Harald Gormsson

Ever wonder why your little speaker is called a Bluetooth speaker? Where did that name come from? Why wasn’t it Yellowtooth? Or Blacktooth? Or Purpletongue for that matter. It turns out it was the nickname of King Harald Gormsson, who had a rotten tooth with a bluish color to it. Some other sources say it could have been because he was fond of blueberries, which stained his teeth a blue color.

King Harald was the King of Denmark and Norway from 958 to 985. He conquered Norway, converted the Danes to Christianity, and united the tribes of Denmark. The Bluetooth company unites different electronic devices, hence the name. The logo is also a nod to King Harald. It is a combination of the letters H and B(Harald Bluetooth) from the Younger Futhark runic alphabet. The whole reason why this is the company’s name and logo was because Jim Kardach read a book on Viking history.

I have been really into Nordic Viking stories lately, and I really appreciated that my book chapter today randomly mentioned this fact. Very cool!

-Briar Albaugh