There is a radiation survey instrument called a “Cutie Pie”.
A group of us were wondering how the instrument became known as such. One theory is that it was invented by Madam Curie and that the Madam was quite a looker for her time.
So, does anyone out there know the origin of the “Cutie
Pie”?
This page (from the medical physics department at the University of Wisconsin) says the device (and the name) dates back to the mid-1940’s, and that the name most likely was given by someone who just thought it was a nifty little gadget–“Hey, that’s a real cutie pie”. This page (from Eberline Instruments) refers to it as an old “classified code name”–certainly many military code names deliberately don’t make any sense, and if the military gave nuclear weapons tests such silly sounding names as “Wigwam”, “Plumbbob”, and “Buster-Jangle”, it’s not too hard to imagine them code-naming/nicknaming a radiation detector the “Cutie Pie”.
It doesn’t seem to be connected to Madame Curie.
Well, my cutie pie (see link in signature lines) originated when my wife was feeling a little flirtatious. We went upstairs and …