This explains so, so, *so* much.
Not gonna lie. In my last neighborhood, all of my neighbors REALLY called me "professor". Mainly because I was their goto guy for any problems they had. Electrical, plumbing, computer, TV, wifi, construction, HVAC, masonry, etc... I would take care of all of that for my neighbors. They paid me in beer so for 3 years, I never had to buy a single beer. And my wife truly is 5'4" and brunette so they called her Mary Ann.
EDIT: Oh, and my wife calls me a nerd all the time. our 2nd date we were at at seafood place she asked what I did for a living, so I started drawing electric circuits all over the paper on the table with crayons on the paper on the table. Amazing it worked. ha ha. If I was in her shoes, I would have bailed.