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Since You Asked: Bluetooth named after Danish King Monday Jun 26, 2017 at 12:01 AM Why do our phones have Bluetooth, rather than blue teeth? And what does teeth have to do electronics, anyway? — Chris M., via email   You'd assume the mobile wireless technology standard that connects smartphones to headsets, cars and battery-powered speakers is one of those absurd Silicon Valley word combinations, but Bluetooth is actually a historical figure's name. The name stems from 10th-century Danish king Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, who united Danish tribes into a single kingdom, primarily by fostering communication between the different factions, according to Smithsonian magazine. Legend also says that Bluetooth introduced Christianity to the tribes, according to Wikipedia. The idea to name the short-range wireless standard "Bluetooth" came in 1997, attributed to Intel worker Jim Kardach who worked on the technology as a way for mobile phones to communicate with computers. Kardach happened to be reading the historical novel "The Long Ships" by Frans Bengtsson, all about Vikings and their relationship with Bluetooth, and Kardach reportedly saw his wireless standard having a similar uniting effect. So, why'd he get that nickname? The common explanation is that he had a conspicuously bad, dark-colored tooth, though other historians believe it related to a class in early medieval Scandinavia. With either explanation, the plural is Bluetooths. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.