Why is that during distress call they say mayday?
mayday “distress call,” 1927, from Fr. m’aider, shortening of venez m’aider “come help me!” Mayday is an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications, derived from the French venez m’aider, meaning “come [to] help me.” It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency by many groups, such as police forces, pilots, the fire brigade, and transportation organizations. The call is always given three times in a row (“Mayday Mayday Mayday”) to prevent mistaking it for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call. Mayday calls: A Mayday situation is one in which a vessel, aircraft, vehicle, or person is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance. Examples of “grave and imminent danger” in which a mayday call would be appropriate include fire, explosion or sinking. Mayday calls can be made on any frequency, and when a mayday call is ma
