Inside, Outside, Upside-down

www.digital.library.upenn.edu

As usual, sorry it's been so long. I appreciate those of you who check in regularly -- it makes this all more fun. I'm working on a post with the details of the Austin trip, but I may not finish it tonight. So, to give you something, here's an issue that came up the other night with Bob and Sue.

If you're walking down the sidewalk with your lady (in a broad sense), on which side of her do you stand to be truly chivalrous? Believe it or not, a friend of Sue's ditched a guy largely because he walked to the inside (house/building side) and made her walk on the outside (street).

Believe it or not, I had heard something about this. My memory is that traditional Victorian chivalry dictates that the man walk on the outside, allegedly so that mud splashed by passing wagons would not hit the lady.

Despite this, I've heard more recently that it is now more chivalrous for the man to walk on the inside. Why? Because the threat of muggings now outweighs the threat of splash, and most dangers come from the houses, doorways, and alleys on the inside.

Ask.com led me to a number of sites, and the majority still put the man on the outside. What do y'all think?