Command Key Truth and Fiction
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- 2002.07.18
During one of those endless Web searches the other day, I ran
across one of Those Little Things I Never Knew - the origin of the
"splat" symbol on the Mac Keyboard, officially known as the command
(cmd) key.
The command key is defined in a number of Web pages, all of
which ultimately plagiarize either the Jargon File, a list of
computer terms and origins, or
Dennis Howe's free Online Dictionary of Computing
Check out the little barb at the end of the article. Must have
been written during the Dark Times.
According to this page, "Its oldest name is 'cross of St.
Hannes,' but it occurs in pre-Christian Viking art as a decorative
motif. Throughout Scandinavia today the road agencies use it to
mark sites of historical interest." Do we have any Scandinavian
readers - or Scandinavian tourists, for that matter - who can
verify this?
It goes on to say that in some Apple documentation it is
referred to as the "interesting feature" key for this reason.
Other names for this key are given, most of which I have heard
before:
- the
 splat
- the cloverleaf
- the butterfly
- the beanie
- the flower
Old-time Apple II users will note that even on modern Macs, such
as the iceBook I am using to type this article, there is an Apple
symbol on the same key. Beginners sometimes call this the "Apple
key" for this reason. Old-timers call it the "open-apple key,"
because on the old Apple II there was a dark Apple key ("closed
Apple") and an outline Apple key ("open"). Eventually the second
one was dropped.
I think it might help some of the PC-folk "switch" if Apple
started labeling the remaining key "cmd" like it does the other
function keys in that area of the keyboard.
You never know what you'll learn just surfing around.
And now on to the fantasy portion of our program....
What other names have you heard for this key? I present a few
random ideas:
- Since the symbol has no end, it could be called the "Infinite
Loop" in reference to Apple's street address.
- It resembles the "MacArthur Maze," a lovely twisty little
freeway intersection where the freeways are all alike near the
Oakland side of the Bay Bridge leading to San Francisco.
- "Hammer throw" makes sense if you think of a glowing hammer
thrown by an angry Scandinavian at night.
There's a whole list on
Quinn Bag of Bits.
Jeff Adkins is a science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a beige All-in-One to a a G4 XServe, and they all work together nicely. He calls himself the "poster child for technology integration" in the classroom. He was the 2006 Outstanding Educator of the Year for the California Computer Using Educators (CUE) organization. He also maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com. Recent Mac Lab ReportsLinks for the Day- Mac of the Day: Umax SuperMac C500, Nov. 1996 - The smallest, least costly Mac clone had two PCI slots.
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