Unique Time/Date coming up

[davidbeach]

If we with the "english" system of measurements ever truly convert to metric for the sake of world standardization (note, that is correctly spelled with a 'z' ;-)), then those odd islands of driving on the left should change to driving on the right, again in the name of standardization.

 

[KENAT]

Driving on the left keeps the sword hand free for approximately 90% of the population and is therefore the logical way to proceed.

Plus when I was working in the UK I designed as many things in inches as in mm, at least the US is a bit more consistent.

Plus to the Mil Std shouldn’t it be 2007/07/07?

 

[JAE]

KENAT -

Sword hand free.....very interesting.

I was thinking of "drink" hand free driving would put us back on the right hand side of the street... but I don't drive and drink....at least alchohol.

 

[KENAT]

http://www.2pass.co.uk/goodluck.htm

Not sure how accurate it is but it fits in with what I've heard before.

Also

http://www.i18nguy.com/driver-side.html

Out of interest in any other date systems are there any 'interesting dates' coming up.

For instance the old Japanese imperial calendar or even the French revolutionary one.

 

[IRstuff]

As you might recall, jousting is done in the right hand lane. The lance is pointed across right to left.

Yes, with left hand lane, you have your sword hand free, but your shield can't be used.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

You know what IRstuff, I thought the same thing when I started reading the sites and they said about knights jousting but I didn’t want to take this even more off topic. I've been to a couple of re-enactments and they always rode on the right, keeping their shields to each other.

However, I believe knights/soldiers usually only carried their shield when dressed for battle but the sword itself was often carried as part of everyday dress. Also shields went out of vogue some time before swords went out of style, just think 3 Musketeers etc.

So it’s probably not unreasonable to assume that for much of the time throughout history people did only have the sword and hence having your sword hand toward any potential threat was a sensible precaution.

 

[kenvlach]

Curiously, the custom of driving on the RHS of the road originated with the British Admiralty's rule for ship traffic: Pass portside to portside.

 

[IRstuff]

Perhaps it's older than the Admiralty, e.g., Norse. Port refers to the side that is docked, because the other side had the steering oar, hence starboard. It would be bad news to lose your steering because it got bumped by another ship or the dock.

That would force ships to pass port to port.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starboard

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[hokie66]

Driving on the right is the reason there are so many tornados in North America. All the counterclockwise eddies created by 18 wheelers.

In Australia, we tempt fate by driving on the left, which should create clockwise spinning southern hemisphere spinning tornados. Guess we just don't have enough trucks yet.

This winter solstice is getting to me.

 

[rb1957]

i remember seeing some TV program about why the brits drive on the RHS (other than to be contray ... the french drive on the left, so we must ...) ... had something to do with wagons and such and how they were lead/driven ...

ps, returning to the OP, isn't every date/time unique ?

 

[IRstuff]

So's every dog and cat, but some people just love their own dog or cat.

People are evolved to look for patterns. The OP's date has a pattern.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[hokie66]

rb1957,
You have it backwards, UK and Ireland drive on the left, Europe on the right.

 

[Beggar]

Having been born on October 10, I'm planning a big birthday party on 10/10/10, perhaps from 10:10 am until 10:10 pm.

On 7/7/7 we'll be celebrating the birthdays of my sister and brother (Yes, starting at 7:07...)

Sadly, my mom passed away just three weeks before she could celebrate her birthday on 5/5/5

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

--------------------

 

[Runsor]

In Finland a usual quiz contest question is: When did the prohibition end and legal liquor was available again?
The answer is fifth of April 1932, ten o'clock, which makes an easy pattern: 543210

 

[DarthSoilsGuy]

off-post topic:

I just wikipedia'd "alcohol prohibition". i didn't know that a whole bunch of other countries experimented with it (i'm from USA), and all about the same time too. If the UN were around back then, it would have looked like an Alcoholics Anonymous group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_of_alcohol