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(Another enjoyable email to share)
I don’t
know the validity of these – but they sound reasonable!!
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Why
do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons
on the left?
BECAUSE:
When buttons were
invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most
people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through
holes on the left. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put
the buttons on the maid's right! And that's where women's buttons have remained
since.
Why
do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help?
BECAUSE:
This comes from the French
word m'aidez -meaning 'help me' - and is pronounced, approximately, 'mayday.'
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Why
are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?
BECAUSE:
In France, where tennis
became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was
called 'l'oeuf,' which is French for 'the egg.' When tennis was introduced in
the US, Americans (mis)pronounced it 'love.'
Why
do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?
BECAUSE:
In the Middle Ages, when
many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an
X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfil obligations specified in the
document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.
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Why
is shifting responsibility to someone else called 'passing the buck'?
BECAUSE:
In card games, it was once
customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate
whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the
responsibility of dealing, he would 'pass the buck' to the next player.
Why
do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
BECAUSE:
In early religious times
people were indoctrinated to believe that the Devil lurked everywhere. So in
order to frighten him away, and any other evil spirits as well, glasses were
clinked together to frighten the Devil and Demons away.
Why
do we "Drink a Toast" to someone we wish to honour?
BECAUSE:
As above, in early
religious times when the Devil was thought to lurk in drinks, a small piece of
dry bread, like today's toast, was dipped into the drink to soak up the Devil
and other evil spirits so it would not be passed to the person being honoured.
Toasting cups as they were known were multi handled in order to be passed from
one person to another and finally the Honoured One for each to sip from. In due
course people drank from their own cup or glass.
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Why
are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?
BECAUSE:
Invented in 1825,
limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime
which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer 'in the limelight'
was the centre of attention.
Why
is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'?
BECAUSE
Types of clouds are
numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest
cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well
above worldly cares.
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In
golf, where did the term 'Caddie' come from?
BECAUSE:
When Mary Queen of Scots went to France as a young girl, Louis,
King of France, learned that she loved the Scots game 'golf.' He had the first
course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was
properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a
military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when returned to
Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with
her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it
into ‘caddie.’
Why
are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?
BECAUSE:
Long ago, dishes and
cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people
saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.'
When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that
resembled a pig. And it caught on.
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