I read a book by the famous flautist James Galway, and he said that pitch varies around the world. It is highest in Germany and lowest in the United States.

In some places (Germany, Scandinavia) the letter B means the note B-flat, and our note B is called H. By stamping the tuning fork C-flat the maker avoided the "B problem" and made it clear what note it was - the note we catters call B.

The B schemozzel may explain why everybody tunes to A now. [Spellcheck doesn't like "schemozzel".]