> > > 11. If you rent a Kawasaki motorscooter with which to tour NZ, make sure to dismount on the left-hand side of the cycle. Dismount on the *right-hand* side, and you'll get second-degree burns on your right leg from the hot muffler.
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> That would never happen on a Cushman. You can get off and on from either side. However, the custom of mounting and dismounting on the left reflects the days of horses. I've found that horses will give you a dirty look, a hoof, and maybe a horse cuss word if you try to mount from the right.

My granddad, a horse trainer, recalled having been called to the set of a movie which was using his horses (we're talking silent movie days, here). The people on set were complaining that his horses were useless, that not a single actor had been able to mount one all day. Every last one of the geniuses had been trying to mount on the right.

But i can't really bag on their ignorance too much for not having been around the beasts. The first time i rode a horse, around the age of twelve, that little Shetland bolted and i froze. I didn't even know what "reins" were, and that's what my uncle was hollering for me to pull to make the thing stop. Finally, i fell off and it stopped. I was the last child present to get to ride the pony unguided that day. But it was still fun.

Penny*can now identify most basic equine gear*stamp