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Did You Know This?

 
*Q: Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes
have buttons on the left?*
*A: 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.*

*Q: Why do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help?
A: This comes from the French word m'aidez - meaning 'help me' --
and is pronounced, approximately, 'mayday.'*

*Q: Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'?
A: 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.'*

*Q. Why do Xs at the end of a letter signify kisses?
A: 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 fulfill obligations
specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.*

*Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else
called 'passing the buck'?
A: 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.*

*Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
A: 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.*

*Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?*
*A: 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.*

*Q: Why is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'?**
A: 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.*

*Q: In golf, where did the term 'Caddie' come from?*
*A. 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".*

*Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?*
*A: 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.*