An important explanation. The UN*X program od can be used tto get a hex dump. "od" stands for octal dump, which explains a lot about the UN*X mindset. But the -x, -X and -t x flags can variously be used to coax od to give a hex dump.

Of course, following the 80's microcomputer revolution, hex dumps are today far more common than octal dumps. But the name sticks.