Swiss Army Knife: History and Metaphor – INFOGRAPHIC

I have used “the Swiss Army Knife” as a metaphor in the past; I proposed it recently as part of a slogan I was working on. The more it nagged at me that I’d heard this metaphorically before, the more I wanted to dive down the rabbit hole. This is a two-part infographic on how the Swiss Army Knife has influenced us:

Sources consulted:

Victorinox

Gear Junkie: Origins of the Swiss Army Knife, Stephen Regenold

Patrick Taylor

MoMA Architecture and Design Collection

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Here are the links associated with each of the results in the graphic above:

“the Swiss Army Knife of“:

QuickTime components (http://perian.org/ )

portable videos (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203872404574260031716614544.html )

embedded linux (http://busybox.net/about.html )

tailored jackets (http://www.ivy-style.com/the-swiss-army-knife-of-tailored-jackets.html )

tablets (http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Swiss-Army-Knife-Tablet-Toshibas-Thrive-/ )

web copywriters (mine: http://jrotman.wordpress.com/2009/01/01/web-copywriter-becomes-swiss-army-knife/ )

internet streaming (http://sonnati.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/ffmpeg-%E2%80%93-the-swiss-army-knife-of-internet-streaming-%E2%80%93-part-iii/ )

trade policy (http://voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/6808 )

design (http://designtaxi.com/article/101714/The-Swiss-Army-Knife-of-Design )

sound processing programs (http://sox.sourceforge.net/ )

vector graphics scripting (http://paperjs.org/about/ )

attack tools (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174560/Botnets_the_Swiss_Army_knife_of_attack_tools_ )

prospecting (http://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/blog/tabid/47760/bid/60476/The-Swiss-Army-Knife-of-Prospecting.aspx )

trace – CodeProject (http://www.codeproject.com/KB/trace/tracetool.aspx )

the brain (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2010/01/07/in-the-swiss-army-knife-of-the-brain-the-ability-to-recognize-faces-may-be-a-specialized-tool/ )

rifles (www.lwrci.com/articles/GA-NOV-P48-55.pd )

pens http://www.vat19.com/dvds/swisspen-x1-swiss-army-knife-executive-pen.cfm

online marketing (http://klessblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/video-is-swiss-army-knife-of-internet.html )

blackberry apps (http://www.mobihand.com/150/product.asp?id=26144 )

personal organizers (http://www.inklineglobal.com/products/redboxorganiser/ )

portals (http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/sharepoint/sharepoint-the-swiss-army-knife-of-portals/ )

iPad GTD apps (http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/02/wunderlist-hd-swiss-army-knife-ipad-gtd-apps )

free tools to make sweet landing pages (http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/the-non-designers-swiss-army-knife-of-free-tools-to-make-sweet-landing-pages/ )

map apps (http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/05/30/maps-for-iphone-is-the-swiss-army-knife-of-map-apps/ )

overclocking (http://www.cpuidle.de/ )

mammalian plasma (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20971949 )

the projector world (http://www.projectorcentral.com/creative_projection_videos.cfm?2011-05-25-Pico-Projectors-The-Swiss-Army-Knife-of-the-Projector-World&entry_id=415 )

shovels (http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/04/6584548-its-the-crovel-the-swiss-army-knife-of-shovels )

shovels (http://www.wimp.com/militaryshovel/ )

heavy equipment (http://www.heavyconstructionacademy.com/2011/09/30/excavatorsarmyknifeheavyequipment/ )

Android apps (http://www.geeknewscentral.com/2011/05/31/the-swiss-army-knife-of-android-apps/ )

communication tools (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/rich-brooks/social-media-strategies-small-business/why-guy-kawasaki-wrong-about-twitter )

shoulder rigs (http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=5796 )

cutlery (http://www.businessinsider.com/idea-of-the-day-the-swiss-army-knife-of-cutlery-2011-6 )

emotions (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkmaster/3287780385/ )

tire gauges (http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704900704576595032808329612.html )

social media plugins (http://www.socialtechnologyreview.com/articles/gigya-swiss-army-knife-social-media-plugins )

linux photo editors (http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/268/fotoxx-%E2%80%93-the-swiss-army-knife-of-linux-photo-editors )

Android tablets (http://digg.com/news/technology/the_swiss_army_knife_of_android_tablets_toshiba_s_thrive_reviewed )

the organization (http://blogs.capella.edu/organizationalperspectives/2011/05/23/hr-professionals-the-swiss-army-knife-of-the-organization-by-al-gorriaran/ )

themes (http://www.websitecreationworkshop.com/blog/register-now/optimizepress-the-swiss-army-knife-of-themes/ )

tablets (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2758088/posts )

test equipment (http://www.rdmag.com/Tools-And-Technology/2011/02/Meters-Digital-Multimeter-Specifications-Guide/ )

diagnostic tools (www.proligence.com/pr_oracle_trace.pdf )

keyboards (http://techland.time.com/2010/09/24/steelseries-shift-the-swiss-army-knife-of-keyboards/ )

charts (http://kaizenfieldbook.com/marksblog/archives/463 )

surfing (http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/6042-the-swiss-army-knife-of-surfing )

Sakai (http://vimeo.com/4242525 )

Apartments (http://dornob.com/flat-pack-mobile-home-the-swiss-army-knife-of-apartments/ )

Silverlight Windows phone apps LongListSelector (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jaimer/archive/2010/11/02/hail-to-the-swiss-army-knife-of-silverlight-windows-phone-apps-longlistselector.aspx )

digital certificates and PKI (http://www.startssl.com/ )

modern websites (http://www.oho.com/blog/flexible-grids  )

web applications (http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3114 )

bike wheels (http://inhabitat.com/copenhagen-wheel-mit-unveils-the-swiss-army-knife-of-bike-wheels/ )

sailboats (http://www.norseboat.com/Swiss_army_knife_of_sailboats!.html )

thumbdrives (http://www.gearfuse.com/this-256gb-ssd-is-the-swiss-army-knife-of-thumb-drives/ )

interactive marketing (http://www.slideshare.net/ReelSEO/omnicom-video )

sharing (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-Nzdu7MVU )

electric scooters in one second (http://gizmodo.com/5780497/unfold-the-swiss-army-of-electric-scooters-in-one-second )

blogging (http://www.techomag.com/wordpress-the-swiss-army-knife-of-blogging/ )

web traffic (http://www.businesswebcoach.com/search-engine-optimization/google-seo/google-analytics-the-swiss-army-knife-of-web-traffic/ )

public policy (http://www.rothcpa.com/archives/007245.php )

essential oils (http://naturallavenderoil.com/2011/08/the-swiss-army-knife-of-essential-oils/ )

homestead tractors (http://www.homestead.org/JohnMolloy/Gravely/SwissArmyKnife.htm )

electric mopeds (http://gas2.org/2011/03/21/voltitude-the-swiss-army-knife-of-electric-mopeds/ )

fitness apps (http://apptudes.com/2011/07/25/fitness-buddy/ )

solar powered car charging stations (http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/tva-and-epri-build-solar-electric-car-chargers-012811/ )

download utilities (http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tips/6610/1 )

PCs (http://www.lostintechnology.com/software/capturenet-the-swiss-army-knife-of-pcs/ )

web-based tools (http://websearch.about.com/b/2010/08/19/1dl-us-the-swiss-army-knife-of-web-based-tools.htm )

mobile ID readers (http://techchunks.com/technology/3m-md6000-mobile-id-reader-enables-quick-security-checks/ )

golf tools (http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/blogs/newstuff/2011/02/the-swiss-army-knife-of-golf-t-1.html )

mac window management (http://smokingapples.com/software/hyperdock/ )

wireless PC gaming controllers (http://dvice.com/archives/2011/03/behold-the-swis.php )

can openers (http://domestikgoddess.com/kuhn-rikon-bottle-can-opener/ )

job search tools (annex.ncwc.edu/intern/Handouts/Elevator%20Speech.pdf  )

vegetables (http://papaheroes.com/2011/08/carrots-the-swiss-army-knife-of-vegetables/ )

steampunk guns (http://www.slipperybrick.com/2010/03/the-swiss-army-knife-of-steampunk-guns/ )

card readers (http://www.slashgear.com/the-swiss-army-knife-of-card-readers-115207/ )

mac utilities (http://technology-headlines.com/2011/09/19/mackeeper-the-swiss-army-knife-of-mac-utilities/ )

personal GPS tracking (http://www.iphoneappreview.com/itrakme-the-swiss-army-knife-of-personal-gps-tracking/ )

T-SQL (http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/archive/2010/01/06/merge-and-output-the-swiss-army-knife-of-t-sql.aspx )

PIMS (personal information manager) (http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/28/kontact-the-swiss-army-knife-of-pims/ )

networking for growing businesses and home offices (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/mushroom-networks-launches-truffle-lite-swiss-army-knife-networking-growing-businesses-1553277.htm )

filmmaking (http://www.writersstore.com/special-effects-the-swiss-army-knife-of-filmmaking )

Peace Corps (http://borderland-chronicles.com/the-swiss-army-knife-of-peace-corps )

portable media players (http://oreilly.com/pub/wlg/7338 )

life (http://www.corporatesecretary.com/articles/succession-planning/11237/networking-swiss-army-knife-life/ )

DOOM! (http://skidmarksteve.livejournal.com/ )

silicon and glass (https://www.stanford.edu/group/ats/cgi-bin/hivetalkin/?p=939 )

2010 (http://ezinearticles.com/?Smartphones—The-Swiss-Army-Knife-of-2010&id=4687669 )

financial planning (http://www.northjersey.com/news/95591694_The_Swiss_Army_knife_of_financial_planning.html )

parenthood (http://mama-lounge.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-swiss-army-knife-of-parenthood.html )