Re: SER1 English/American
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Before this discussion devolves into the meaning of Dexter and
Sinister, I should point out that the first Fords, which now have a
shared bloodline with the Rovers had a central tiller so perhaps Henry
et al hadn't quite decided if driving should be on the left or the
right or be totally apolitical. Deeper analysis also reveals that
Americans cut their food with a knife and fork but then set the knife
down and switch the fork to the other hand. This distinctive pattern
of table behavior lead to the famous axiom that "When you see a fork in
the road - take it." Owing to the paucity of round-abouts in America
the value of the fork rose considerably in people's estimation and gave
rise to the other motoring colloquialism when purchasing fuel for our
beloved vehicles, to wit "forking over your hard earned cash to pay for
it."
And with that bit of nonsense done with, I'd like to bid my brothers
and sisters around the world a pleasant good night and a fresh day
tomorrow with new roads to travel.
Wayne Perrin
On Tuesday, September 21, 2004, at 09:43 PM, Channon G Coats wrote:
> We always understood that Americans drive on the right bcs our roads
> were
> dominated by oxen-pulled freight wagons and the driver walked on the
> right side so they wouldn't be crushed, would be out of the mud and
> could
> use their whips right-handedly. On the other "hand" the English roads
> were dominated by men using swords, and to pass on the left side of the
> road meant the other person would have his sword arm fairly ineffective
> in having to swing across the body for protection. Same reason really,
> the castle stairs circled turrets counterclockwise, enabling the
> defender
> to have a better swing (on top) than the attacker (below).
>
> So there is your over-educated smart ass answer from California, and
> the
> way we always heard it was.
>
> Frank & Channon
> '56/86
> 70/88
> Def 90
>
> To change subscription see www.landrover.net/series1/mail
>
To change subscription see www.landrover.net/series1/mail
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