Kill six millions Jews in Germany, your name becomes a synonym with evil. Kill between 44 and 72 million Chinese, you get a café named after you. It’s a funny old world, eh?
- commenter Jill Murphy on Samizdata
Posts tagged: China
Cafe Mao and the Soup Nazi
January 16th, 2008 · No Comments
→ No Comments | Categories: pop culture
Where did Alibaba, the brand name, come from?
October 15th, 2007 · 3 Comments
Earlier this year, the International Herald Tribune put the spotlight on Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba.com:
“I’m a normal guy,” he said during a recent interview in Singapore. “I feel ashamed because I feel I’m stealing the contribution of my team. They made it; my job is more, ‘Let’s go do it.’”
Started in 1999, Alibaba International [...]
→ 3 Comments | Categories: company names
When the Chinese in China take English names
March 20th, 2007 · No Comments
→ No Comments | Categories: language · name changes · pop culture
Gu Ge a go for Google
April 13th, 2006 · 8 Comments
Via Business 2.0
Google may be the most recognized new 21st century brand in the West. But in China, its name was a dog. Surfers had been pronouncing the unfamiliar “Google” as “gougou” or “gugou,” among other variants – meaning “doggy” and “old hound.” An easier-to-pronounce name is just one of the reasons why rival Baidu [...]
→ 8 Comments | Categories: WTF · name changes
