As audiophiles, you may have run across the 25+ year old audio analyzers from Hewlett Packard known as the HP 8903B and HP 8903E.
The HP 8903B contained both a low distortion audio source as well as a precision audio analyzer whereas the HP 8903E contained only the precision audio analyzer (with no source).
There never was an 8903C or 8903D, so why was the analyzer only model referred to as the 8903E?
The explanation is as follows: The marketing staff at Hewlett Packard's Spokane Division recognized that the analyzer only version would contain essentially "half" of the functionality of the existing 8903B. Since the existing unit was known as the "B" model, they decided to refer to the analyzer only model as "E" in honor of the Monty Python skit that featured "Eric the half-a-bee".
Now you know the rest of the story.
