# Is the indication of hot/cold direction on this kind of mixing faucet|tap really unambiguous to you?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-indication-of-hot-cold-direction-on-this-kind-of-mixing-faucet-tap-really-unambiguous-to-you/729150>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 28, 2015, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-indication-of-hot-cold-direction-on-this-kind-of-mixing-faucet-tap-really-unambiguous-to-you/729150 "2015-08-28T09:12:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-indication-of-hot-cold-direction-on-this-kind-of-mixing-faucet-tap-really-unambiguous-to-you/729150/21 "2015-08-29T01:01:53Z")

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> [@chappachula](#):
>
> Hot water is always on the left.
> 
> Why?—Because ,in the old days, there were two separate knobs on the faucet\*, and you would naturally reach out with your right hand to turn the knob on the right side, and your left hand to turn the knob on the left.  
> Most people are right-handed, so their first instinct is to reach for the knob on the right. Especially children.  
> So, the knob on the right side is cold water, for safety reasons—to avoid the danger of scalding yourself from that first blast of water, which may be hotter than you expected

I don’t think so. I believe the explanation is not a safety issue but this. In the **old** days there was only a faucet with a handle and you could only get cold water. It was put on the right because of predominance of right-handedness. When they added hot water, is was put on the left because right was already taken.

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**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-indication-of-hot-cold-direction-on-this-kind-of-mixing-faucet-tap-really-unambiguous-to-you/729150/22 "2015-08-29T05:42:20Z")

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Back in HS Spanish Class, we were warned that, in Spanish-speaking countries, the “H” was ‘hace frio’ (cold) and the “C” was ‘caliente’ (hot) and to never trust either the location or the label of faucets.

I sorta figured that this is what prompted this thread.

Right=Cold goes back many years.

I do hope you don’t try to drive - the steering wheel is probably counter-intuitive for you 😉

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