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People are shocked after discovering what the HP stands for on HP sauce

People are shocked after discovering what the HP stands for on HP sauce

There's a clue on the bottle

Internet users have been left speechless after discovering what the letters HP stand for in popular condiment HP Sauce – and the answer is probably something you’ve never considered.

Also known by the very descriptive name brown sauce, HP is a breakfast staple amongst many Brits. With many people chucking it onto their bacon sandwich in the morning thanks to its rich and tangy flavour.

But are you aware of the meaning behind the name HP Sauce?

Chances are, you’ve probably never once thought about how HP Sauce earned its name – you’ve probably just chucked it onto your food and carried on with your life.

However, once you start thinking about it, you’ll realise that HP is a pretty weird thing to call a sauce.

The clue is staring right at you in this photo. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The clue is staring right at you in this photo. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Take a closer look at the bottle and you’ll find your first clue in the logo which features a very familiar location in London. In the foreground sits Westminster Bridge, alongside Big Ben and, you guessed it, the Houses of Parliament.

Yes, HP Sauce is named after the Houses of Parliament.

The meaning behind the name can be traced back to the sauce's invention in 1895.

Nottingham grocer and HP Sauce creator, Frederick Gibson Garton, had apparently been so astonished to learn that the sauce was being served to MP's that he decided this piece of trivia was good enough to base the entire brand around.

Don't worry if this is brand new news to you, loads of people have taken to social media to reveal they've only just caught on as well.

Most people assume HP stands for the inventor's initials. (Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
Most people assume HP stands for the inventor's initials. (Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)

One person said: "What? Does it really mean that?"

Another added: "I didn’t know that, it seems obvious now, but also incredibly weird as a brand name."

A third said: "Not until just now I didn't. I'm 47."

The revelation was trending following a post on Reddit, where a helpful person broke down the meaning behind the famous label.

But that's not the only huge brand name that people are learning more about recently.



Loads of people were blown away when they discovered the hidden meaning behind the Amazon logo.

When the online shopping giant first started out all the way back in 1994, founder Jeff Bezos planned on creating the world's biggest bookstore.

As such, he wanted a fitting name and logo.

Amazon's name has links to the site's original purpose. (Jaque Silva/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Amazon's name has links to the site's original purpose. (Jaque Silva/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tech editor Brad Stone wrote in his best-selling book The Everything Store that the CEO initially landed on the name Cadabra, as in abracadabra, but this was decided against as it was confused with the word Cadaver.

After looking at a number of different possibilities, Bezos then turned to the A section of the dictionary and came across Amazon.

Stone explained in the book: "This is not only the largest river in the world, it’s many times larger than the next biggest river."

It was a perfect fit for his intentions with the company, as he was hoping to make the online book selling platform equivalent.

Since those early days, Amazon has become a global juggernaut, branching out into pretty much any category you can think of.

And it's for this reason that the simple logo design it actually pretty damn genius.

You see, while most people assume the orange arrow under the name represents a smile, it's actually pointing from 'a' to 'z', highlighting that Amazon sells everything you could need.

Featured Image Credit: Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images/NurPhoto/Getty

Topics: Viral, UK News, Food And Drink, Amazon, Weird, Reddit