 |
| Source unknown |
Call it trivia, or fun facts or 'yeah-what-ev-va'! I call it, 'huh, I didn't know that'! Gullible? Maybe.
You be the judge.
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. 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:
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, phonetically,
'mayday.'
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 (mis)pronounced it 'love.'
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 fulfill obligations
specified in the document. The X and the
kiss eventually became synonymous.
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.
WHY:
Why do people
clink their glasses before drinking a toast ?
BECAUSE:
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.
WHY:
Why are people
in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?
BECAUSE:
Invented in
1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theaters by burning a cylinder of
lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre,
a performer 'in the limelight' was the center of attention.
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, that person is floating
well above worldly cares.
WHY:
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:
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.
And now you know the origins of our strange customs.
Believe it? Or not? This isn't Ripley's but I don't know the origin of this info either. It was passed on to me through an email, from a Canada friend, originally my neighbor as a little girlie, from NJ. Thought I'd share that. I cannot take the credit for this knowledge.
Which do you believe, or not?
