Locally in Norway we call them 'sugar cubes'.
LOL thats a good one
In New Zealand, back in the old days, they were always known as chocolate connectors because the only way they were produced were from the brown bakelite
I cant remember when they started coming out in the translucent white plastic, maybe in the 1970's. They were used in their bazillions when I was in Telecom for connecting phone cables in buildings. Mainly in residential buildings.
And then again with one of my jobs in Australia in the PA ( Public Address) audio industry, hooking up speaker lines through out buildings.
cheers
Dave