Posted by Eric Abraham on February 24, 2004 at 14:36:39 from 199.240.139.78 user EricAbraham.
In Reply to: Re: A sense of PLACE-right/left posted by Ed Kiser on February 21, 2004 at 19:33:29:
On the subject of walking righ or left --- When in Junior High School (now called "Middle School" -isn't that a British term?) we were officially told to walk on the right side of the hallways. I remember suggesting that we use hand signals like we used in cars, before turn signals, to indicate our turns, but that was vetoed - just imagine all these kids sticking their arms out and whacking others in the face! Also, at that time we were instructed to walk on the left side of public roads (this was in areas with no sidewalks) so that we could see the oncoming traffic. I believe this was an official instruction in the manual of road rules.
The history of our customs is extremely interesting. As Ed said, there is always a reason for doing things the way they are done, however obscure that reason may be!
Eric Abraham