Ever sat on the toilet bowl and wonder about the more important issues in life, like what the heck does the "B" in "Oral-B" stand for?

Well this article's for you.

1. Oral-B

Think dental and oral care, Oral-B is most likely one of the top brands you'll recall. For a juggernaut in the field, you would think "B" stands for something really scientific or have some gravitas.

Well, the "B" stands for...

Wait for it...

"Brush"

2. Ginvera

This is a local brand most of us grew up either using or seeing its commercials on TV. So what does Ginvera mean?

Well, Ginseng extracts and Aloe Vera are the main ingredients in its original products. Go figure.

3. BMW

When you were in primary school, you'd snigger and say BMW meant "big mouth woman". Now that you're a contributing member of society and too poor to own a car, BMW means "Bus MRT Walk".

Actually, the German car-maker which started out making airplanes has a name that most of us won't remember even after reading it -- Bayerische Motoren Werke (German for Bavarian Motor Works).

4. Pentel

Besides questionable grammar on social media, the Japanese stationery-making company has quite a meaningful name. It is a combination of "pen" and "tell" so you can use their pens to tell a story.

Beautiful.

5. 3M

We use their post-it pads, scotch tape, and sponges. The least we could do is to know that 3M stands for Money Money Money Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company.

Yes you got that right, the company had its roots in mining. Interestingly, 3M spent most of its long 114-year history doing things other than mining.

6. Tupperware

Although the containers we put food in can be called, well, containers, most of us have grown accustomed to calling them "Tupperware" even if the containers are not be made by the Tupperware company.

And yes, Tupperware is named after its founder Earl Tupper who made airtight plastic containers with the famous "burping seal".

7. Yahoo!

Though most of us have switched to Google, Yahoo! was many people's very first search engine.

While most assume that Yahoo! is just a really excited version of the expression "Yahoo", it is a backronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle".

And according to Yahoo, "hierarchical" described how the Yahoo database was arranged in layers of subcategories. The term "oracle" was intended to mean "source of truth and wisdom", and the term "officious", rather than being related to the word's normal meaning, described the many office workers who would use the Yahoo database while surfing from work.

8. Asics

Most NSmen have stocked up on Asics shoes with eMart credits. If only they knew that Asics stands for "Anima Sana In Corpore Sano", which means "Healthy soul in a healthy body" in Latin, then they would aim for IPPT gold instead of aiming for RT.

The Latin is pretty funky for a Japanese shoe company set up by Kihachiro Onitsuka. Yes, that's where Onitsuka Tiger shoes come from as well.

9. Coca-Cola

The ubiquitous and de facto soft drink. It has become so commonplace that most of us don't even question the name. Coca-Cola is so named because of two of its original ingredients -- the kola nut and coca leaves.

10. Ribena

Every kid's preferred sweet drink because "Healthy mah. Got grapes!". Ribena is derived from Ribes nigrum, the scientific name of the blackcurrants Ribena is made from.

Do you know other interesting stories behind the names of other brands? Share it with us in the comments.

Since you're here, how about another article?

The official Mothership stand on the eternal debate: Books vs Movies

5 actually watchable local films to check out right now… for free

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.