.
.
From the files of the perspicacious Dragnet, on the subject of WHY, or
the origins of some of our strange customs...

1. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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: 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 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.
.

.
.