Pangolin?

[michelrietveld]

it is funny to check out company names using youtube and google, what the h.ll is a Pangolin???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2cyp8k8uuM

Michel

[masterpj]

it is funny to check out company names using youtube and google, what the h.ll is a Pangolin???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2cyp8k8uuM

Michel

I found out what a pangolin was by looking at their website :P

[buffo]

Funny story:

Pangolin Laser Systems really *is* named after a goofy-looking ant-eater. Apparently Patrick Murphy and someone else (not sure if it was Bill or not) were watching a documentary on Pangolin's (the animal), and having a few drinks. Then they changed the channel and started watching some cheezy reruns of 1950's TV shows, like "My Favorite Martian" and "My Three Sons".

Someone made a joke about "My Favorite Pangolin", and someone else replied with "My Three Pangolins"... Due to the alcohol, this was considered to be endlessly hilarious.

The next day they were trying to decide what to call the new laser company they were forming. Guess where they got their inspiration from? Yup, the drunken jokes from the night before. And thus, Pangolin Laser Systems was born...

Adam

[flecom]

they also gave away Pangolin branded Pangolin's many many moons ago... theres still one at the Miami Planetarium from when they bought their Amiga based QuadMod (QM) system

[masterpj]

Woa, awkward way to come up with a company name.
Guess some of them just didn't drink too much to forget the pangolin jokes xD

[ildadirect]

Funny story:

Pangolin Laser Systems really *is* named after a goofy-looking ant-eater. Apparently Patrick Murphy and someone else (not sure if it was Bill or not) were watching a documentary on Pangolin's (the animal), and having a few drinks. Then they changed the channel and started watching some cheezy reruns of 1950's TV shows, like "My Favorite Martian" and "My Three Sons".

Someone made a joke about "My Favorite Pangolin", and someone else replied with "My Three Pangolins"... Due to the alcohol, this was considered to be endlessly hilarious.

The next day they were trying to decide what to call the new laser company they were forming. Guess where they got their inspiration from? Yup, the drunken jokes from the night before. And thus, Pangolin Laser Systems was born...

Adam

Adam --

That was pretty close... Just for the record, here are the actual details.

I actually remember the naming of Pangolin very well. I can see in my mind where I was standing and what I was working on.

Before I went to college, I was a graphic artist. That is how I could major in "Laser Art and Technology", because I had a "real job". After college I continued working as a graphic artist. One of my clients was the World Wildlife Fund U.S. main office in Washington, D.C.

In August 1983 I was working on the September 1983 issue of their publication "Focus". My college friend Andrea Gates was visiting and chatting while I pasted up on my homebuilt light table. The lead article in "Focus" had a photo of a pangolin. Of course, we had never heard of this funny-sounding animal. She and I started making jokes about famous TV shows with the word "Pangolin" in them (like Adam said, "My Three Pangolins" was one of those shows). Sorry, there was no alcohol and no actual TV watching. It was just funny (to us...) at the time.

Sometime in the next year, I had to name my graphic arts business. Remembering our hilarity, I called it "Pangolin Graphic Design". The logo was a clip-art drawing of a Pangolin.

In the meantime, I had continued doing laser shows and laser software development. I worked with David Lytle as "Nightlight Laser Design Studio". But after David moved to Portland, Oregon he kept that name. For my laser work, I needed a new name.

I already had a business telephone line for Pangolin Graphic Design, and I didn't want to get a new line for the laser business. So I called it "Pangolin Laser Software". That way, when I answered the phone I could just say "Pangolin", and it would work for either business.

So that is where the "Pangolin" comes from!

-- Patrick

PS: Incidentally, the red-bar "P" logo for Pangolin Laser was developed specifically so it would look good on the low-res computers and printers of the time. The logo had no curved or slanted edges. Everything was rectangular, so edges and corners were always crisp. Bill later developed the 3D perspective version of the logo.

[masterpj]

Thats pretty entertaining story
Funny how wacky or random idea's actually come to life

[Banthai]

Thanks Patrick for the insight ......

so that dispells the myth that Pangolin is called Pangolin because Bill has a really thick skin that can withstand all kinds of punishment and he has a long tongue that can kill at 50 yards

Ya know im kidding Bill

You know its very easy to market your company if you have a name like LaserGlobe, laserearth or LaserPlanet but to have a company name thats individual and grows on reputation is far better .....

all the best ....

Karl

[JohnYayas]

I wonder how many people can figure out where the name Hinged Newt came from.

[mophead]

I wonder how many people can figure out where the name Hinged Newt came from.

From a hinge that looks like a newt?