I must point out that the intel one is incorrect. it’s NOT because of the thermal paste.

the nickname was first coined in Taiwan. it was given such a name due to the fact that for years intel refreshed their products with only tiny amounts of improvement each time, like how one would only squeeze out a tiny bit of tooth paste to save money (perhaps it’s a cultural difference). it’s mocking intel for nick-n-diming the consumers as there was little competition out there.

btw, the AMD used to be mocked as the “powerpoint” company, as their products looked amazing on spec sheets during the keynote presentations, but always under delivered (until some years ago, of course)