Word Play

Here’ s a little trivia for your Thursday morning. Do you know what Nintendo means? Or how Nokia got its name?

Of course you do. (Not.)

As the Wall Street Journal today explains, “Nintendo” in English translates as “leave luck to heaven,” while Nokia is named for the nearby Nokianvirta River, which in turn is an ancient Finnish word for sable.

It’s part of a fun and anecdotal look at how those and some 14 other electronics companies — including Motorola, Coleco, Magnavox, Samsung and a host of others — came to be known as they are today.

I won’t rob the Journal of its work by listing them all here. Click on the link, though: it’s worth the two minutes.