16. Why is it called a ‘Cockpit’?!
WWI Vickers FB5 Gunbus
In the times that Great Britain ruled the seven seas, British sailors used to entertain themselves with cockfights. The fight took place in a compartment below the deck nicknamed ‘The Cockpit’. Later, the term became to mean the ship’s steering bridge.
During WW1, the term “ascended” from the high seas to the high skies and became synonymous with the pilot’s steering deck. Presently, it also describes a vehicle’s control panel.