Subj : word To : Ardith Hinton From : Alexander Koryagin Date : Mon Dec 07 2020 14:13:08 Hi, Ardith Hinton! ->Alexander Koryagin I read your message from 30.11.2020 23:56 AH>> When it really mattered which side of a horse a knight mounted on AH>> & what the chances were of meeting up with an enemy who was AH>> approaching from the opposite direction, it made sense to keep to AH>> the left. AK>> I also want to note, that women also were road traffic AK>> participants, and during those times they sat on their horses AK>> sidelong with their both legs hung on the left side of horse. AH> Yes... we call it "riding sidesaddle". Years ago I saw a picture of AH> Queen Elizabeth II mounted that way on a formal occasion when she AH> was wearing a full-length skirt. In less formal situations she & AH> other female members of the royal family evidently wear jodhpurs AH> (riding breeches). Until the 20th century it would have been AH> unthinkable, however, for a female to wear trousers.... So we see why the cavaliers could not afford the right road traffic. If the queen got off the horse/carriage from the left side going to the Buckingham palace, it was a strong example. ;) AK>> So, if the traffic on roads had been right-sided women could have AK>> gone under the horse approaching from the opposite direction, in AK>> case they fell from their own horses. It case of left-side AK>> movement they could get safely into the road ditch, the worst AK>> scenario. AH> Good point. I am told right-handed people generally prefer to mount AH> from the left & horses generally learn to expect that. It would be AH> safer, both for males & females, to mount/dismount at the edge of Yes, it is also a point. And I can see no good reasons why did they migrate to the right side traffic. AK>> So, returning to our horses, the women used to dismount from both AK>> horses and carriages from the left -- and a universal rule, as we AK>> know, is a good and easy rule. AH> I hadn't thought about carriages, but I get the drift. AK>> You should not rake your brains and think which variant is better. AK>> That's why they still follow the rule in England. AH> Dallas has driven in England with me as a passenger & navigator. We AH> both thought the roundabouts there were a great idea because they AH> don't take up a lot of space... and if you're not sure which exit AH> to use you can drive around in circles until you've figured it out. AH> On North American freeways you may not get a second chance to read AH> the signage, and if you take the wrong exit you can easily waste AH> half an hour getting to wherever you should have been. But we also have a circular motion in the places where several roads are connected with a doughnut style road. It works, too. ;) Bye, Ardith Hinton! Alexander Koryagin english_tutor 2020 --- * Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0) .