Theme

Why things carry their name and history

Why do we say “hello” on the phone, why isn’t the keyboard in alphabetical order, why does the week have seven days, why is a tennis tournament named after a pilot? Many of our certainties are just old habits left in place, forgotten choices that became norms.

This page brings together the whys of history and origins: those of words, names, inventions and traditions. We trace an old, often surprising decision back to its root, to see how the past keeps shaping our most ordinary gestures.

Each answer is short, checked and linked to its sources. Behind every “why” hides a little investigation: here is a way to see your habits in a new light.

Evelie

Why is Roland-Garros named after a pilot?

Because the stadium built in 1928 for the Davis Cup was named after Roland Garros, a World War I aviator killed in 1918, at the insistence of his former classmate who had become president of the Stade Français sports club. The pilot had no connection to tennis.

Chroneve

Why did the Vikings reach America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus?

Edison wanted 'Hello'. Bell wanted 'Ahoy'. One of them won, and the word travelled the world, reaching French as 'allô'.

Evelie

Why do we say "hello" when we pick up the phone?

Because Edison pushed "Hello" as the standard greeting, against the "Ahoy" Bell preferred. The word spread through the first telephone companies, and most languages built their own greeting around it. French turned it into "allô".

At France's National Assembly in 1789, supporters of the king sat to the right of the chair, the revolutionaries to the left. The word stuck.

Chroneve

Why do we talk about "left" and "right" in politics?

Because at France's National Assembly in 1789, the king's supporters sat to the right of the presiding officer and the revolutionaries to the left, and the word outlived the chambers and regimes that gave rise to it.