Origins of Some of Our Strange Customs
You must have wondered sometimes why are certain things done in a certain way throughout the world.
If you haven’t got an answer to some of those questions here are some origins of some of our strange customs.
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, approximately, ‘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 (naturally), mispronounced it ‘love.’
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.
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:
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.