Going through a lot of iterations until one band name "stuck", true to his obsessive working ethos in finding the "right" sound for his music.

> L: Where did the name Nine Inch Nails come from?

T: I don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually you think you have a great one and you look at it the next day and it's stupid. I had about 200 of those. Nine Inch Nails lasted the two week test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated easily. It really doesn't have any literal meaning. It seemed kind of frightening. [In his best he-man voice] Tough and manly! It's a curse trying to come up with band names.

[0]https://web.archive.org/web/20150813023119/http://www.thenin...

As in, why the band chose the name? It's a reference to the length of the nails that Jesus was supposedly crucified with.

Also Twenty-three Centimeter Nails wasn't nearly as catchy

I hope this comment gets as much appreciation as it deserves.