Why is it always 'Mayday, mayday!' ?? when in crisis.?

Question

Why is it always 'Mayday, mayday!' ?? when in crisis.?

Answer 1

French for "help me" :  m'aidez, m'aidez

Answer 2

Early 20th century. Representing the pronunciation of French m'aider in "venez m'aider" - come and help me.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/d...

"distress call," 1927, from Fr. m'aider, shortening of venez m'aider "come help me!"

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term...

The victim of mayhem might shout "mayday," although a simple "help!" would be more effective, and never realize that he or she was speaking French. "Mayday," which is the international radio distress call used by ships and airplanes, is actually an Anglicized form of the French "m'aider," which means "help me." The original phrase was "venez m'aider," which means "come help me," but the "mayday" version probably gained currency because of its distinctive sound, easily recognized above the static and noise of long-distance radio transmissions. Of course, the fact that the French word for "help me" happened to sound like our English "Mayday," a traditional celebration of the coming of Spring held on May 1st, helped speed its adoption.

While we're on the subject of distress calls, here's a little bonus fact for you. The letters "SOS," the international Morse Code distress signal, does not stand for "Save Our Souls," "Save Our Ship," or any of the other variations on that theme one commonly hears. "SOS" doesn't stand for anything -- it was picked as a distress signal because it is easily remembered.

http://www.word-detective.com/back-n.htm...