Microsoft is one of the world's most recognizable companies with a history rich with interesting facts. Did you know that one of Microsoft's most popular software products, Microsoft Office, actually made its debut on the Mac? Or that the original smartwatch, the Timex Datalink, was designed in collaboration with Microsoft?

Here are some interesting facts about Microsoft that may surprise you.

1. Microsoft Was Originally Known by a Slightly Different Name

Few company names are as recognizable as Microsoft. However, the company was originally named Micro-Soft by company co-founder Paul Allen, a combination of the words microcomputer and software.

2. The Original Microsoft Logo Was Created in Less Than a Day

Microsoft has had several different logos over the years, each just as recognizable as the next. However, it took co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen less than a day to design Microsoft's original logo.

3. Musician Brian Eno Composed the Renowned Microsoft 95 Jingle

Prolific musician Brian Eno, known for his collaborations with musical acts like David Bowie and Coldplay, was the brains behind the Microsoft Windows 95 start-up theme.

Eno came up with the six-second jingle, known as “The Microsoft Sound”, admitting that he created the sound on a Mac and had never used a PC in his life in a BBC Radio 4 interview.

4. Windows OS Once Had a Very Different Name

While we all know Bill Gates as a wildly successful businessman, his marketing abilities might need help occasionally.

While the original Windows operating system was still under development, Gates wanted to call it “Interface Manager”. The name was used internally for a while, with plans to use the same name when the OS was eventually released to the public.

However, when Microsoft's marketing department heard the name, they convinced Gates to change it to Windows, which is a reference to the “windows” on the computer screen that users interact with while using the operating system. The operating system was released as Windows 1.0 in 1985.

5. Microsoft Office Actually Debuted on the Mac

Microsoft Office is one of the company's most well-known software products with favorites including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point. Despite the obvious association with Microsoft, it might come as a surprise to some that originally, Microsoft Office made its debut on the Mac before it landed on Windows.

The first version of Microsoft Office was released in 1989 for Mac, and a year later made its way to Windows.

Internally leaked emails from Bill Gates reveal the reason this happened was because Apple's platform was more flexible than Windows, which made it easier to test new products there before introducing them to Windows.

6. Microsoft's Employees Are Nicknamed “Softies”

While you might picture the average Microsoft employee as a serious developer, they go by the seriously cute nickname “Softie”. With more than 180,000 employees in over 100 countries, the average softie is a male living in the US.

7. Microsoft Once Saved Apple From Bankruptcy

While they are best known as rivals, there was a time when Microsoft helped save Apple from bankruptcy.

When Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy in 1997, Microsoft made a $150 million investment in the company. While this saved Apple from crumbling, fans weren't so enthusiastic about the move and responded with boos when Steve Jobs announced the investment during the Macworld Boston conference in 1997 on his first appearance as the CEO of Apple.

The investment was mutually beneficial as Apple pulled a lawsuit it had against Microsoft accusing it of copying its operating system. Apple also made Microsoft's Internet Explorer the default browser on Macs.

Perhaps Microsoft's biggest benefit in the investment was to escape the legal troubles with the Department of Justice who at the time were going to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft accusing it of being an illegal monopoly in the PC market. Helping out a competitor in the PC space saved Microsoft from being split into two entities.

8. Microsoft Is a Record Patent Owner

Microsoft holds more than 70,000 patents, of which over 50,000 are currently active. With thousands of patents filed every year, like this one with AR glasses that can see through fog, along with those acquired through company acquisitions, Microsoft is among the top patent holders in the world.

9. Microsoft Designed One of the Original Smartwatches

While the popularity of the smartwatch is a fairly recent phenomenon, it might be surprising to some that Microsoft was involved in designing the original smartwatch. In collaboration with watch manufacturer Timex, the Timex Datalink was released in 1994, and was inspired as an alternative to PDAs which were popular at the time.

The watch featured an LCD screen and had high-tech capabilities including the ability to download information from a computer wirelessly, and storing phone numbers in the watch's memory. The watch was also certified by NASA for space missions and was even used in space with various models of the watch worn by working astronauts.

While the design was groundbreaking for its time, the watch never took off commercially and didn't last past the new millennium.

10. Why Are Manhole Covers Round?

As one of the top tech companies in the world, Microsoft has developed its own method to attract the best talent possible. The company has earned a reputation for asking oddball and unexpected questions to prospective employees during the interview process.

Questions Microsoft is rumored to ask like “why are manhole covers round” may seem odd for a techie, but require the interviewee to think outside the box and use creativity to come up with an answer.

Microsoft Continues to Dominate the Tech World

It's been a long journey from Microsoft's inception back in 1975. Since then, the company has evolved and developed many wonderful software and hardware products we use today.

Microsoft's dominance of the tech space shows no signs of slowing down, and we are confident that the company will continue to design and innovate new products and services for years to come.