I've always thought that P.F.Chang would turn out to be something ridiculous like Pinkus Finkelstein Chang, or that DHL stood for Dag Hammarskjold Library (in the UN).
Apparently, neither of these are true. These, along with fourteen other abbreviated company names, have interesting origins.
AT&T and 3M are pretty well known, but do you know what IKEA, JBL, and CVS stand for?
Apparently, neither of these are true. These, along with fourteen other abbreviated company names, have interesting origins.
AT&T and 3M are pretty well known, but do you know what IKEA, JBL, and CVS stand for?
Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founding the tax preparation firm in Kansas City in 1955. Their only problem was their last name. The brothers worried that people would mispronounce their surname as “blotch,” hardly a term you want associated with your tax return. They decided to sidestep this problem by spelling the company’s name “Block” instead, so that nobody would miss the solid hard “k” sound.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by nmiller.
Not quite. I worked for BP from 1992-1994. The sign just said BP, and I had to ask a co-worker what it stood for. I think you're thinking of when, in 2000, they changed their logo and came up with the slogan "We're bringing oil to American shores."
H-E-B really stands for Howard E Butt, the original owner's son. They used the acronym because nobody would shop if it was called Butt's.
18. DQ
In 2007, Dairy Queen was shortened to DQ.
19. BP
Around 2000, along with the logo change, British Petroleum shortened their name to BP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOOF_(company)
It was started 160 years ago by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.