In 1988, the General Electric Company (GEC) and Plessey combined to create a new telecommunications giant.
A brand name was desired that evoked technology and innovation. The winning proposal was “GPT” for GEC-Plessey Telecommunications (a not very innovative name and not suggestive of technology and a total disaster for European branding).
In French, however “GPT” is pronounced “J’ai pété”, meaning: “I’ve farted”.
Source: Jem Shaw at i18nguy.com
