People are just realising how Apple got its name – and fascinating reason for ‘bite out of logo’

EVER wondered how Apple got its name – or why its logo has a bite taken out of it?

The answers to both might surprise you.

Apple / Wikimedia CommonsThis is the iconic Apple logo – but why is there a bite-mark?[/caption]

Apple name meaning

The Apple brand is globally recognised, and had several inspirations.

For instance, the original Apple logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton.

Newton was a famous English physicist, who famously told the story of forming the theory of gravity after watching an apple fall from a tree.

Apple founder Steve Jobs originally chose the name Apple for the company after visiting an orchard while on a “fruitarian diet”.

He told journalist Walter Isaacson that he thought “it sounded fun, spirited and not intimidating”.

Jobs added: “Plus, it would get us ahead of Atari in the phone book.”

Speaking during a 1981 press conference, Jobs said: “I love apples and like to eat them.

“But the main idea behind Apple is bringing simplicity to the public, in the most sophisticated way, and that’s it, nothing else.

“The fruit of creation. Apple. It was simple, but strong.”

Apple logo and bite meaning

There are lots of theories about the Apple logo.

One is that it’s linked to Sir Isaac Newton, and that it’s he who took the bite out of the logo.

Others think it may be linked to British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing.

Turing worked for the allied war effort, cracking the German enigma code to decrypt Nazi communications.

Sadly, Turing was convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with another man at a time when homosexuality was illegal in Britain.

He was found dead in 1954, aged 41, from cyanide poisoning – with his body laying next to a half-eaten apple.

Some think the Apple logo was inspired by Turing, who is hailed as the founder of computer science.

The logo is in fact inspired by Sir Isaac Newton.

And the first version of the logo that was designed by Apple co-founder Ron Wayne depicted Newton sitting under a tree.

However it was replaced very quickly by the Apple logo we know today, albeit covered in a rainbow pattern.

Importantly, the apple has a bite taken out of it.

Rob Janoff, who designed the logo, said that it was designed with a bite so that it wouldn’t be confused with a cherry.

The rainbow colour scheme was chosen to “humanise” the company, at Apple founder Steve Jobs’ request.

There was no link to Alan Turing, and any depictions of Sir Isaac Newton have since been abandoned by Apple.

The rainbow colour scheme was eventually dropped in 1999, followed by aqua and then glass logos.

And the current logo is now generally either plain white or black.

Apple / Wikimedia CommonsThe very first Apple logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton beneath an apple tree[/caption]

AppleThis is the current Apple logo on the back of an iPhone[/caption]

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