Well, 
ccohoon will probably think it's amusing, anyway:
From the "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Calendar" (www.pageaday.com) entry for Sunday, May 1, 2005.
ccohoon will probably think it's amusing, anyway:MaydayInteresting. So the international term for distress originated from a French phrase demanding help. [Insert joke here.]
Meaning: A distress signal
Origin: It doesn't have anything to do with the first of May. It comes frmo the pronunciation of the ending of the French phrase Venez m'aider, which means "Come help me!" Because of its distinctive sound -- understandable even over the static of a ship's radio -- and because m'aider sounded like "may day," a known English phrase, it was readily accepted as an official distress signal.
From the "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Calendar" (www.pageaday.com) entry for Sunday, May 1, 2005.
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Of course, [insert joke about spending lots of time in the bathroom, and how that might require a calendar, here].
2. Last week, some cartoon in the Washington Post ripped off that joke. I thought it was "Get Fuzzy", but I didn't see it in the archives.
I know how to speak french:
"I surrender, I surrender!!! Please tell the Americans to rescue us. Again."
At least you all know a bit of French trivia now.