Log and Login
Obviously children ask quetions about everything all the time. Recently word etymology has been a recurring theme. I love these questions because it is the right kind of stimulus that my brain enjoys to chew on. This one was not provided by the kids but it still offered the same wonderful stimulus.
Origin of Log and Login.
Sailors used to throw logs overboard, attached to lines with knots tied at regular intervals. The # of knots that passed through a sailor’s hands within a given amt. of time helped determine the ship’s speed. Now, 1 knot = 1 nautical mph. Since logs were used to help measure the speed, sailors would record their ship’s speed in a ’log book.' Eventually, ’log book’ referred to a record of any information recorded on a voyage and was shortened to ’log.'
This extended to the idea of a login. The person who is doing the logging first has to login and now we have login and password that is common place, at least for now in computers, and more recently modern society.