Hi Gang I realize I am a bit late with this but here goes. Mr Schilke hints darkly that it is we insular islanders who are 'sinister'. I believe the answer lies in our distant past. In olden days the English gentlemen would carry swords partly for their personal protection and also because it was the style of the times. This sword was a manly thing nearly three feet long -------not like the sneaky continental dagger--------- worn at the waist and so that it came quickly to hand, usually on the left hand side of the wearer. When our fine English gentlemen were riding horses of course these swords protruded out to the left of the rider and if two of these gentlemen met in a narrow lane there would be a clash of swords possibly leading to bad feeling, name calling or in extreme cases loss of blood. To avoid this the nobility took to riding their horses on the left of the lanes so that the worst that could happen was that a peasant walking in the mud would be hit on the back of the head with the 'gentleman's' scabbard. With the introduction of the motor car of course it was the Landed Gentry who first had them and they just continued this practise to the present day and countries where we "had an interest" were made to drive on that side also. Of course the explanation above begets the question. Why do the others drive on the right????????????? Regards, John 53.2n 2.5w
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of John Schilke Sent: 08 March 2002 19:17 To: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de Subject: Re: Right or Wrong ----- Original Message ----- From: Chuck Nafziger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I get the impression that several people on the list think that driving is done on the left side of the road in China. Not so, only in Hong Kong is driving done on the left. All of mainland China drives on the right. The Japanese also drive on the left. Is there a trend here whereby left side driving is only done on isolated islands? What about India, formerly part of the British Empire? I am asking because I really don't know. John Schilke 122W36, 45N21 - -
