Q: Why men’s clothes have buttons on the right while women’s clothes have buttons on the left?

A: 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.

Q: Why ships and aircraft use ‘mayday’ as their call for help?

A: This comes from the French word m’aidez –meaning ‘help me’ — and is pronounced, approximately, ‘mayday.’

Q: Why zero scores in tennis called ‘love’?

A: In France , where tennis became popular, round zero 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 (mis)pronounced it ‘love.’

Q. Why…