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Examining the ridiculous names of open source projects

GNU Hurd, the Linux Kernel competitor built by the Free Software Foundation, is an acronym that stands for “Hird of Unix-Replacing Daemons.” And “Hird” isn’t a typo – it stands for “Hurd of Interfaces Representing Depth.”

So “Hurd” is a recursive acronym inside another recursive acronym. Thus, if you break out the name “GNU Hurd” one level deep – be careful not to go too far… this rabbit hole is infinitely deep and has been known to drive men to the brink of madness – you end up with something like this:

“GNU is Not UNIX: Hurd of Interfaces Representing Depth of Unix-Replacing Daemons.”

Catchy, right?

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