Tony, (toady?)

I don't think that the handshake thing is an adaptation from wanting to touch. It originally started out because your right hand was where you held your sword, and your left hand your shield, and if you wanted to greet someone peacefully, you would sheath your sword and greet them. Incidently, right/lefthandedness is one of the reasons why we started to drive on the right side of the road. The problem was that people would be driving on the left, going on carriage or oxencart or whatever, and when they would go to whip the animals, it was with their right hand, which is difficult to do when there is someone quite close to you on the road, coming towards you on your right...

Anyways... case in point against touching being a built in greeting: bowing. Most asian cultures do it, and I'm sure there are other countries that have non-contactive greetings...

;)

Good point about the bowing. But about the left side / right side, ok, what about the UK and Japan? (wonder if some contrived explanation would be based on both of them being island countries.)

According to an internet post that I found, all british countries drive on the left, and all french countries drive on the right.. The reason is that Napolean was left-handed, and thus, his armies marched on the right-hand side of him... (?)

http://www.ourworld.rapid.co.uk/goodluck.htm


Who knows... there's probably a million reasons.. ;)

More on left/right
 

Does anyone here remember a book called "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" by Louis Sachar? The one with the 30 story school where the principal decreed that you must walk up the steps on the right side, and down the steps on the left side?