What's even weirder is Googlers being given rainbow propeller beanies during orientation week that they're expected to wear.

Between that and the Lego bins and slides, it can be kind of hard to tell if you've joined an elite engineering org or a kindergarten.

Internal cute nicknames is nothing new - I was a "Digit" when I started at DEC in 1997. 25 years later I'm just a boring old HPEer.

I don't think so? My current employer has a #xoogler Slack channel, so named because that's what people will look for. You can say it's uncool if you like, but that's the word people use.

I think in the case of FAANG (or whatever the acronym is these days), if you worked for one of the big guys in the past it's worth making it obvious if you're looking for work. If not only to stand out from other applicants, also to set an expectations for higher desired salary.

Does it also bother you when people have bumper stickers of the college they went to?

per wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Brotherhood_of_T...

...the international brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903. The term teamster pre-existed, since the 1840s, referring to people (men usually) who drove teams of horses. And in 1903, it still referred to those people, since motor-powered trucks did not yet exist on a large scale and teams of horses were still used to deliver most goods.

You are probably aware, but, ... "brotherhood" was a self-chosen term, intended to imply mutual support and protection among the members, _against_ the employers. In contrast the demonyms that companies choose are chosen BY the employers, and there is no mutual support intended. In fact many large companies (Amazon, Google) actively resist labor union efforts.

In summary, your comment is sort of off-base for a couple reasons.

and members chose to join that

"Teamster" was actually a job title, not a cute nickname.

the union is literally called 'the international brotherhood of teamsters'. what else do you expect them to be called?