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Random Sunday Evening Story


kbobam

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I just figured out that my camera has a setting where you

can have it make a traditional 'click' sound when you take a shot.

It's hard for me to understand why you'd want to add a fake noise to

something which in itself is silent by nature. But then I remembered a story.

Years ago, Rolls-Royce introduced what I'm sure was a magnificent

automatic transmission. It was their first to be 100% electronically

controlled. As such, the shifter moved effortlessly from one gear to another.

People hated it.

So Rolls added a few springs and cogs which did nothing to help drive the car.

But when you shifted gears, you felt the expected resistance,

followed by a smooth but satisfying 'clunk'. :lol:

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I remember hearing that that is how Kodak actually got it's name.

It was the sound that the camera made when it clicked to take a picture. "ka-dak"

Now I guess this could be complete bull sh_t. Anyone else ever hear that story? :rolleye-842:

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Nope. But I know the same thing happened with the ball-point pens where you "clicked" the button at the top . . .

And at least one steel roller coaster I know of deliberately added the "chain-ratcheting" noise as it dragged your stupid self up the first really really high hill for the initial freaking drop . . . because the sound added to the tension. Like there wasn't enough, what with being able to see Canada and all from the top . . .

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I don't remember hearing the Kodak story.

But it made me remember a chart I saw once, which showed

the different pronunciations of basic animal sounds around the world.

They're not as 'universal' as you might think. Some look ridiculous.

(At least by my language's standards.)

So "Ka-dak" sounds pretty reasonable! ( :

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The letter k was a favorite of Eastman's; he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter."[24]


He and his mother devised the name Kodak with an Anagrams set. Eastman said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it should be short, easy to pronounce, and not resemble any other name or be associated with anything else.[25]


It has also been suggested that Kodak originated from the suggestion of David Houston, a fellow photographic inventor who held the patents to several roll film camera concepts that he later sold to Eastman.[25] Houston, who started receiving patents in 1881, was said to have chosen Nodak as a nickname of his home state, North Dakota (NoDak).[26][27] This is contested by other historians, however, who cite that Kodak was trademarked before Eastman bought Houston's patents.[28]


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