YKK

"YKK" on zippers stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, the name of the Japanese company manufacturing them. The letters were stamped onto products and eventually became the trademark and official name of the company.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen literally means "people's car." Adolf Hitler initially came up with the idea for "cars for the masses," which would be a state-sponsored Volkswagen program. Hitler wanted to create a more affordable car that was able to transport two adults and three children at speeds of 62 mph. He choose the car manufacturer Porsche to carry out the project, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Reebok

Reebok is an alternate spelling of rhebok, an African antelope. The company founders found the word in a South African a dictionary won by Joe Foster, son of the Reebok founder J.W. Foster.

Canon

Canon was founded in 1933 under the name Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory. Two years later it adopted "Canon" after the company's first camera, the Kwanon. Kwanon is the Japanese name of the Buddhist bodhisatva of mercy.

Hotmail

Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith had the idea of checking their e-mail on a web interface, and tried to find a name that ended in "mail." They finally settled on "hotmail" because it contained the letters html, referencing the HTML programming language used to help create the product.

Rolls-Royce

During the First World War Rolls-Royce made rifles.

Nike Swoosh Logo

The Nike corporate logo design has successfully grown into being one of the most influential and recognizable insignia throughout the world. Amazingly, in 1972, Nike CEO Phil Knight wrote a $35 check to Carolyn Davidson, a Portland State University student, to design the “Swoosh” logo.

At the time, he wasn’t very impressed with her creation, saying back then that he’d “get used” to the design. By 1983, Knight warmed up to the now iconic design and invited her to a company lunch. There, he presented her with a diamond ring engraved with the swoosh, and an undisclosed amount of Nike stock.

Flag of Paraguay

The flag of Paraguay was adopted in 1842. It is the only national flag with different emblems on its obverse and reverse sides.

Each side of the flag consists of three equal, horizontal bands: red, white, and blue, with an emblem centered in the white band.

The emblem on the obverse side is the national coat of arms of Paraguay: a yellow five-pointed star surrounded by a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY -"Republic of Paraguay", all within two concentric circles;

The emblem on the reverse side is the seal of the treasury, a yellow lion below a red Phrygian cap and the words Paz y Justicia - "Peace and Justice" capped by REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, again within two circles.

Oldest Olympian ever

The oldest Olympian ever was Oscar Swahn, a Swedish shooter in the 1920 Antwerp, Belgium, Olympics. He was 72.

First Chinese Olympic Medal

Xu Haifeng, who won gold in the 50 meter pistol event in the Los Angeles Olympics, was the first medal won by China in Olympics.

BMW Models

You certainly know that most BMW cars have codes - E21, E30, E36, E39, E32, E12... So, what's with this E in the models?

BMW does not use automobile platforms like any other manufactures, instead, each generation has a development code - Entwicklungsnummeren,

E = Entwicklung = Development