The Straight Dope: Why do the British drive on the left?

[Send questions for Cecil Adams: cecil@straightdope.com](mailto:cecil@straightdope.com) FOLLOW CECIL ADAMS ON [TWITTER]( AND [FACEBOOK](! [881111.gif] THREADSPOTTING: THE BEST OF THE STRAIGHT DOPE MESSAGE BOARD — 11/08/2019 If 6 was 9 and red and smelled like roses. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 — 11/11/1988 Dear Cecil: Why do people in Britain and some of their former colonies drive on the left side of the road? Is it just a case of clinging stubbornly to an outdated tradition, such as the confusing English system of measures? — Billy Bob, Memphis, Tennessee Cecil replies: Try to be tolerant. Seven hundred years ago everybody used the English system, and if distressing numbers of us have proven fickle in the centuries since, that’s no reason to dump on the Brits. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 02/17/2004 Dear Straight Dope: I have a friend who is very religious (in an offbeat unfathomable way). The other day we were talking about diet. According to my friend Adam and Eve were vegetarians — God gave permission for people to eat meat after the Flood. I am skeptical, since I seem to remember a lot of shepherds in the Bible and to me shepherds = meat eaters. My friend says that they just sacrificed those animals to God without eating them. A quick Internet search left me even more confused. Was everyone in the Bible vegetarian before Noah? And if so were they strict vegans? — Kevin Fry SDStaff Dex replies: This is an easy one. Answer: Yes, your friend is correct — the Bible presupposes a pristine state of vegetarianism. In the creation story, God creates people (male and female) and says to them (Genesis 1:29), “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit, they shall be yours for food. And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” So, the image presented — the plain reading of the text — is that in the Edenic state, people were to be vegetarians. And not only people; all the animals were vegetarians as well. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 — 01/12/2000 Dear Cecil: Why is prostitution illegal? — Frank Carroll, Arlington, Virginia Cecil replies: Because hookers are a nuisance, that’s why. Always around when you don’t want them, and never there when you do. [Click here]( for more. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [View this message as a webpage](. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. To advertise on The Straight Dope, contact Rich Hummel at rhummel@suntimes.com [Privacy Policy/Terms of Use]( • [Unsubscribe]( © 2019 Straight Dope, LLC. 30 N Racine Ave. Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60607