The Origins of some of our strange customs
1. WHY
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. As 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.
2. WHY
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.’
3. WHY
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 (naturally), mispronounced it ‘love.’ And then the word stuck on.
4. WHY
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.
5. WHY
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.
6. WHY
Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
BECAUSE
In earlier times it used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host’s glass with his own.
7. WHY
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.
8. WHY
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, then that person is floating well above worldly cares.
9. WHY
Why are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?
BECAUSE
Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of 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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