1. Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs? A: Long ago, dishes and
cookware in Europe were made of a denseorange clay called 'pygg'. When people
saved coins in jars made of thisclay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.'
When an English pottermisunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a
pig. And itcaught on. 2. Q: Did you ever wonder why dimes,
quarters and half dollarshave notches, while pennies and nickels do not?
A: The US Mint began putting notches on the edges of coinscontaining gold and
silver to discourage holders from shaving off smallquantities of the precious
metals. Dimes, quarters and half dollars arenotched because they used to
contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren'tnotched because the metals they
contain are not valuable enough toshave. 3. Q: Why do men's
clothes have buttons on the right whilewomen's clothes have buttons on the
left? A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and
wornprimarily by the rich. Because wealthy women were dressed by
maids,dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right! Since most people
areright-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes onthe
left. And that's where women's buttons have remained since. 4.
Q. Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses? A: In the Middle
Ages, when many people were unable to read orwrite, documents were often signed
using an X. Kissing the X representedan oath to fulfill obligations specified
in the document. The X and thekiss eventually became synonymous.
5. Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called'passing the buck'?
A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, calleda buck,
from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. Ifa player did not
wish to assume the responsibility, he would 'pass thebuck' to the next player.
6. Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking atoast?
A: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy byoffering
him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink wassafe, it became
customary for a guest to pour a small amount of hisdrink into the glass of the
host. Both men would drink itsimultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he
would then just touch or clink the host's glass with his own.
7. Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in thelimelight'?
A: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and stagelighting by
burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light.In the theatre,
performers on stage 'in the limelight' were seen by theaudience to be the
center of attention. 8. Q: Why do ships and aircraft in trouble
use 'mayday' astheir call for help? A: This comes from the French word
m'aidez - meaning 'help me' -and is pronounced 'mayday.' 9. Q:
Why is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'? A: Types of clouds
are numbered according to the altitudes theyattain, with nine being the highest
cloud. If someone is said to be oncloud nine, that person is floating well
above worldly cares. 10. Q: Why are zero scores in tennis
called 'love'? A: In France , where tennis first became popular, a
big, roundzero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called
'l'oeuf,'which is French for 'egg.' When tennis was introduced in the US
,Americans pronounced it 'love.' 11. Q: In golf, where did
the term 'Caddie' come from? A. When Mary, later Queen of Scots, went to
France as a younggirl (for education & survival), Louis, King of France,
learned that sheloved the Scot game 'golf.' So he had the first golf course
outside ofScotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was
properlychaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from
amilitary school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when shereturned
to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she tookthe practice with
her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day'and the Scots changed it
into 'caddie.' Now YOU know just
about everything !
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