[Jamestown1630]

And when did they do that, and how did they conduct their search? I doubt very much that they actually surveyed ALL world languages.

According to Wiki, it is estimated that there could be up to 3000 different languages in Africa, with 500 in Nigeria alone - and that isn’t counting all the other continents. I guarantee that ‘Esso’ is likely to mean something in some other language that is vulgar, or just ridiculous.

It seems that as the world becomes smaller and more connected, there are going to be endless cultural pitfalls. What a ridiculous world to live in, until people start acting from good sense instead of their little ‘feelings’.

[dayglored]

The name change was in 1973. A buddy of mine at that time was involved with the company and mentioned the extensive search they did to avoid names that might cause trouble or offense.

But I'm sure you're right that they didn't check EVERY language, probably just the most prevalent few hundred.