Original photo by Medhat Dawoud/ Unsplash
Apple has always been known for its design. Before its iconic logo resembled an actual apple, however, it featured Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This is, of course, a reference to the legend of Newton formulating his law of universal gravitation after getting bonked on the head by a falling apple — which ranks among history’s best-known “aha!” moments. The more widely accepted version of events is that Newton merely observed a falling apple, but that doesn’t make the event any less fun to ponder. In addition to the drawing, the logo featured a line from poet William Wordsworth: “Newton … a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought … alone.”
Oops, incorrect!
It's a fibThe phrase was first coined in 1913, and it’s based on a British saying that dates to 1886. Originally, the quote went: “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.”
The logo — which debuted when the company was founded in 1976 — was short-lived, however, in part because co-founder Steve Jobs felt the design couldn’t be effectively rendered in smaller versions. Soon, he hired graphic designer Rob Janoff, who came up with the logo now recognized worldwide. The original design isn’t the company’s only connection to literal apples, however. The reason Macs (short for Macintosh) are so named is because of the apple of (almost) the same name: McIntosh, project creator Jef Raskin’s favorite variety.
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Isaac Newton’s mother wanted him to be a ______.
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Isaac Newton’s mother wanted him to be a farmer.
Devices are almost always set to 9:41 in Apple ads.
You might not have noticed it before, but ads for iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices almost always show the clock displayed at the same time: 9:41. As with just about everything else related to the company, this isn’t a coincidence. It all goes back to Apple’s keynote events, where new products are revealed, which begin at 9 a.m. and are scheduled so that the gadget in question is first unveiled 40 minutes in. Because this timing isn’t an exact science, the extra minute is added for good measure.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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