Thanks to Sybil-Ann
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.
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.’
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 fulfill 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 center
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, that person is floating well above worldly
cares.
9. 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
she 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.
10. 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.
BIG CHEEKS
Bet you don’t know “Big
cheeks”.
Big cheeks. A grandson of
slaves, a boy was born in a poor neighborhood of New
Orleans known as the “Back of Town.” His father abandoned
the family when the child was an infant. His mother became a prostitute and the
boy and his sister had to live with their grandmother.
Early in life he proved to be
gifted for music and with three other kids he sang in the streets
of New Orleans. His first gains were coins that were thrown to them.
A Jewish
family, Karnofsky, who had emigrated from Lithuania to
the USA, had pity for the 7-year-old boy and brought him into their home.
Initially giving ‘work’ in the house, to feed this hungry child. There he
remained and slept in this Jewish family’s home where, for the first time in
his life, he was treated with kindness and tenderness.
When he went to bed,
Mrs. Karnovsky sang him a Russian lullaby that he would sing with
her. Later, he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs.
Over time, this boy became the
adopted son of this family.
The Karnofskys gave
him money to buy his first musical instrument; as was the custom in the Jewish
families.
They sincerely admired his
musical talent. Later, when he became a professional musician and composer, he
used these Jewish melodies in compositions, such as St. James Infirmary and Go
Down Moses. The young black boy grew up and wrote a book about this Jewish
family who had adopted him in 1907. In memory of this family and until
the end of his life, he wore a Star of David and said that in this family, he
had learned “how to live real life and determination.”
You might recognize his
name. This little boy was called: Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong proudly spoke
fluent Yiddish! And “Satchmo” is Yiddish for “Big
Cheeks”!
And I’ll bet you did not know
any of this
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