When Bezos left DESCO to create Amazon with his wife, MacKenzie, the two began trying to think of the perfect name for the website. They registered the name Cadabra Inc. with the state of Washington, but Bezos's lawyer Todd Tarbert told them the name was difficult to understand (it was supposed to be part of the phrase "abracadabra") and that when you said the name while talking on the phone, people thought you had said "cadaver." Other early contenders were "awake.com," "browse.com," and "bookmall.com." Though they eventually abandoned it, Bezos and MacKenzie also liked "relentless.com" and Bezos registered the website name. Typing in that address today will still redirect a Web user to Amazon.
Ted S. Warren/AP
