I searched Google's "YouTube", it seems like "tube" is a nickname for "television". So, when did television get this nickname, and why?
EDIT
I have once considered tube
as TV cube
, does it make sense?
etymology
I searched Google's "YouTube", it seems like "tube" is a nickname for "television". So, when did television get this nickname, and why?
EDIT
I have once considered tube
as TV cube
, does it make sense?
Best Answer
To answer the when part of your question, it looks like the nickname took hold in the early 1960s. The earliest use of it in print I could find is from a 1962 television trade publication:
Television magazine, Volume 19, Issue 3
It appears the term was used widely by advertisements for televisions promoting the latest technology behind their "color picture tubes." The term's popularity increased greatly in the 70s, peaked in the 80s, and has been in decline since then. (Unless, of course, you count the use of YouTube.)