OS X Mavericks Isn’t Named After A Cat: It’s Named After A Dog

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2008-06-26_White_German_Shepherd_Dog_Posing_3

Yesterday, Apple unveiled OS X 10.9 and joked that after a decade, they were ditching their scheme of naming OS X releases after cats because they’d simply run out of big cat names to use. Instead, from now on, they’d name future versions of OS X after places in California, starting with OS X Mavericks, named after a famous Californian surfing spot.

What’s pretty funny about the choice of ‘Mavericks’ as a name for OS X, though, is that the real-world location is named after a German Shephard, meaning that argue switched from naming their OS X releases after cats to naming them after dogs instead!

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According to Matt Warshaw’s book Mavericks: The Story Of Big-Wave Surfing (as recounted by Wikipedia):

In early March 1961, three surfers, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, and Dick Knottmeyer decided to try the distant waves off Pillar Point. With them was a white-haired German Shepherd named Maverick, owned by Matienzo’s roommate. Maverick was used to swimming out with his owner, or with Matienzo, while they were out surfing.

The trio left Maverick on shore, but he swam out and caught up with them. Finding the conditions unsafe for the dog, Matienzo tied him up before rejoining the others. The riders had limited success that day, surfing overhead peaks about 1/4 mile from shore, just along the rocks that are visible from shore. They deemed the bigger outside waves too dangerous.

They decided to name the surfing location after Maverick, who seemed to have gotten the most out of the experience. It became known simply as “Mavericks”.

Of course, it’s not likely there are too many places in California named after dogs, so it seems unlikely that Apple will continue this tradition into 10.10. Still, isn’t it a bit ironic that the animal that eventually put an end to Apple’s line of jungle cats was their most bitter natural enemy, and man’s best friend?

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