[Misc] The official “Well I never knew that” thread

[maltaseagull]

I have wounded why the UK drive on the left, appears to date back to at least the Middle Ages when the main danger on the roads was from robbery so travellers would pass on-coming strangers on the left to allow their sword arm to draw towards the passer-by.

Meanwhile in France the left hand side of roads was largely used as a fast lane for the Army but also the Aristocracy who after the Revolution between 1792 to 1799 were finding themselves targets of mass harassment if spotted and so many slowed down had their fancy carriages de-blinded and drove with the masses on the right hand side.
When Napoleon came to power and started invading and ruling countries they imposed many changes such as a standard metric system of weights and measures which included driving on the right.
Also having influenced upon the recently formed USA right hand driving was adopted but not the metric weights and measures as the English speaking world who were at the time by far their largest trading partners were still using Miles, pound, Stones and inches.

Sorry but that is not logical at all!

Was continental Europe safer for travel in the Middle ages?

Why did America take the lead from France for driving but not any measurements?

PS Hope your wound heals soon. Which side of the road were you on?

 

[el punal]

Sisyphus ?

Very good - for one brief second I thought it was syphilis.

 

[Eeyore]

Sorry but that is not logical at all!

Was continental Europe safer for travel in the Middle ages?

Why did America take the lead from France for driving but not any measurements?

PS Hope your wound heals soon. Which side of the road were you on?

My experience in Malta was that they drive on whichever side of the road they feel like

 

[Coldeanseagull]

View attachment 195178
I didn't know this until a couple of years ago. If you are in an unfamiliar car and not sure which side you fuel from the fuel gauge has a little arrow showing you which side it's on.

My third car has disproved that theory

 

[Man of Harveys]

Sorry but that is not logical at all!

Was continental Europe safer for travel in the Middle ages?

Why did America take the lead from France for driving but not any measurements?

PS Hope your wound heals soon. Which side of the road were you on?

Quite. I’d always heard that they stipulated that people had to cross Old London Bridge on the left - not that they chose left for any particular reason - and that the UK adopted it for wider use from that. However, as with so much else, this could also be bollocks.

 

[Blue3]

Sorry but that is not logical at all!

Was continental Europe safer for travel in the Middle ages?

Why did America take the lead from France for driving but not any measurements?

PS Hope your wound heals soon. Which side of the road were you on?

I assume most places used the left side hand side of roads for the same reason we did in the Middle Ages but in the late 1700’s with the French revolution when apart from the army everyone was using the right hand side then when Napoleon came to power many things were standardise and was then rolled out across Europe including which side of a road should be used and many other places occupied by the French and other European colonial countries chose to drive on the right 100 in total.
Those places that are former British colonies including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand Drive on the left 78 in total.
The French were supporters of the revolutionary Americans providing weapons money and even some soldiers when independence was won the they used the French constitution as as the basis of their own and which side they should travel

 

[maltaseagull]

I assume most places used the left side hand side of roads for the same reason we did in the Middle Ages but in the late 1700’s with the French revolution when apart from the army everyone was using the right hand side then when Napoleon came to power many things were standardise and was then rolled out across Europe including which side of a road should be used and many other places occupied by the French and other European colonial countries chose to drive on the right 100 in total.
Those places that are former British colonies including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand Drive on the left 78 in total.
The French were supporters of the revolutionary Americans providing weapons money and even some soldiers when independence was won the they used the French constitution as as the basis of their own and which side they should travel

China?
Russia?

Was all of South America influenced post Napoleon?

 

[veuve]

I never knew till today that Shoreham harbour had lock gates.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I never knew till today that Shoreham harbour had lock gates.

I did not know that!

 

[ROSM]

My experience in Malta was that they drive on whichever side of the road they feel like

Usually in the shade

 

[maltaseagull]

Usually in the shade

I suspect you went on a red minibus tourist trip.

They actually hog the white line in the middle.

Drive one handed with one had either holding the roof on or the door shut.
You know when a Maltese driver is turning left as they veer to the right first or vice versa. Even bus drivers and truck drivers do it.

 

[beorhthelm]

Sorry but that is not logical at all!

Was continental Europe safer for travel in the Middle ages?

Why did America take the lead from France for driving but not any measurements?

PS Hope your wound heals soon. Which side of the road were you on?

agree it doesn't make sense, but seems the accepted wisdom is French peasants ducked to the right to make way. there's another version that Napoleon was left handed so set the rule so he could attack on his left... which make less sense as implies he's doing all the attacking on roads. eitherway i think it's making up reasons for something that just came about and was standardised by Napoleon who liked to do that. it's just French being awkward when everyone else was happy with the left side.

then there's USians who appear to have independantly decided to standardise on the right in 1700's, due to controlling large wagons with right hand, "driver" in the middle of the road rather than a ditch, which does sound sensible. a link!

 

[Questions]

what was his name? does your sister know?

Adam

 

[US Seagull]

I've know this for a while, but didn't know it for most of my life, but "petrol" was actually a trademark name of a particular brand of car fuel. A company called "Carless, Capel and Leonard" coined it.

Petrol: How Haltermann Carless coined the world famous name.

Petrol is a common term used all over the world. But do you know that the name was invented by Haltermann Carless in 1893?

www.haltermann-carless.com

 

[Bodian]

I never knew till today that Shoreham harbour had lock gates.

I did not know that!

Have to cross them to get to Carrots cafe and the beach. Used to be really annoying when boats / ships used them as we'd all have to wait. There was a bit of a hoo-hah over them some years ago as to whether there was a public right to walk over them or not.

They've now put whopping great fences up alongside the path, so you can't actually see much. And fences on top of the lock gates as well - rather than a small handrail that we used to use.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

I did not know that!

 

[Doonhamer7]

Man roamed the Earth WITH the dinosaurs according to my sister.
And she’s smart.

According to my born again Christian neighbours who don’t believe in evolution this is true

 

[Questions]

According to my born again Christian neighbours who don’t believe in evolution this is true

My sis has sent me pieces on dinosaurs fossils that were made 4-6k years ago… she really has

 

[ROSM]

I suspect you went on a red minibus tourist trip.

They actually hog the white line in the middle.

Drive one handed with one had either holding the roof on or the door shut.
You know when a Maltese driver is turning left as they veer to the right first or vice versa. Even bus drivers and truck drivers do it.

The engines on the old cars keep working as they're caked in dust and are hermetically sealed so don't rust

 

[alanfp]

If you want to know more things that you never knew about Malta, listen to Mark Steel's in town.

BBC Radio 4 - Mark Steel's in Town, Series 9, Malta

Comedian Mark Steel visits the island of Malta and performs a show for the local audience.

www.bbc.co.uk

He refers to the island's British/Italian heritage and asks the live audience "so which side of the road do you drive on, then?" and they all reply in unison "We drive in the shade!".

(He's also 'done' Brighton).