# Left or right poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686 "2014-08-03T00:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/41 "2014-08-04T23:32:54Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > You weren’t wrong. In the US, cold on the right is _supposed_ to be standard, but often is not, as we discussed here [a decade ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=254145). True… But I seriously fucked up, thinking that the sinks in my own apartment were “cold on the left.” It’s just how I remembered it when sitting here typing. When I actually got up off my theoretically fat ass and looked at the facts… Cold on the right! (Poll: would you rather have someone who is wrong all the time and never admits it…or someone who is wrong all the time, but admits it and tries to learn from it?) Meanwhile, I suggest y’all invest in IBM. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/42 "2014-08-05T00:44:02Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > I was a plumber and my guys did a bathroom and got them backwards. Don’t think the woman of the house wasn’t jumping up and down with rage. Another time my guy hooked the toilet up to the hot water line! Wtf? How did a hot water hookup even get within reach of the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/43 "2014-08-05T01:34:15Z")
1. Mens room (as in you know there are two bathrooms in front of you but they are not labeled)L 2. Cold water (2 faucet handles and they are not labeled etc…)R 3. Exit door (Got the idea?)L 4. Pepper L 5. Decaf coffee pot (like in a meeting and there are 2 coffee pots but they aren’t labeled) R 6. Dryer R ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/44 "2014-08-05T02:05:19Z")
1. Mens room: left 2. Cold water: right (except for the dimwit plumber who installed my kitchen sink faucet so you have to push forward for hot and pull back for cold) 3. Exit door: right 4. Pepper: right 5. Decaf coffee pot: right 6. Dryer: right I’d like to hear the opinions of people whose languages read right to left. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/45 "2014-08-05T02:07:41Z")
On the left are: 1. Men’s Room (has been everywhere I’ve worked and seems to hold true at most restaurants that have separate facilities. Although in many places the Women’s Room is also a Men’s Room) 2. Hot Water 3. Exit Door (I’m not sure I know what this means though… I don’t see many dedicated entrances and exits and this depends on whether you are looking at it from indoors or outside. I’m assuming outside in my answer) 4. Salt 5. Caffeinated (WAG. Never been in this situation) 6. Washer ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/46 "2014-08-05T05:16:45Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Wtf? How did a hot water hookup even get within reach of the toilet? I don’t know how…but that happened in my father’s house once. A professional plumber was working in the crawlspace, and somehow got hot water to go to the 1/2 bathroom (toilet and sink) in the back. (ETA for clarity: the toilet flushed hot water.) He fixed it at no extra charge. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/47 "2014-08-05T05:34:18Z")
Right 1) Mens room Right 2) Cold water Right 3) Exit door Left 4) Pepper Left 5) Decaf coffee pot Right 6) Dryer ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/48 "2014-08-05T06:29:34Z")
Men’s room-right, because that’s the way it is at work. cold water-right, because that’s the standard. exit door-right, because we should walk in hallways the same way we drive in traffic. pepper- right, because it’s always called “salt & pepper” and never “Pepper & salt” decaf- Random, I don’t drink coffee Dryer-right, I don’t think Ive ever seen a dryer on the left. So… All of them right! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/49 "2014-08-05T06:37:47Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > ??? > > I have literally never, in my life, seen a faucet where the cold water tap was on the left. > > Literally, 100% of the time, the cold water tap is on the right, and in a single-tap, you have to turn to the right for cold (clockwise for shower-type, counterclockwise for sink-type). I’d be extremely surprised if this wasn’t a standard. You never met my Dad. He worked as a contractor and apparently he had never heard of this convention. When he installed plumbing he would put the hot water on the left or right side pretty much at random. I, of course, grew up in houses he had worked on and so I never learned to associate one side with hot and one side with cold. Any time I encounter two faucets - even those my father never saw - I turn them on and wait to see what temperature the water is. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/50 "2014-08-05T07:02:07Z")
Are most or all of the above respondents in the United States? We all know that lots of things are done bass-ackwards in the USA compared to the rest of the world. There seems to be a near-total agreement that the cold water is on the right. I’ve sporadically seen sinks with cold on the left. I’ve heard it said that this is the standard in England and perhaps elsewhere in the world. Can someone expound on this? What about the entry/exit doors? Does that tend to follow the “driving on the right” rule? Are doors the other way in places that drive on the left? Did you know that carousels go counter-clockwise in the USA (seen looking down from above) but clockwise everywhere else? We flip light switches UP to turn on, DOWN to turn off. I’ve been told that it’s the opposite just about everywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/51 "2014-08-05T07:38:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Are most or all of the above respondents in the United States? > > We all know that lots of things are done bass-ackwards in the USA compared to the rest of the world. I’m in Japan and speaking for how I expect things here. When the tap has two handles like [this](http://www4.cty-net.ne.jp/~m-nenko-/image24.jpg) or a single lever handle like [this](http://www.xn--bbkyao8812dd67a9ke.com/user2_data/images/09201627_4e78406ad62ec.jpg) I expect hot to be on the left and cold to be on the right. But if the sink has an over-the-sink style water heater like [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ja/7/70/Kyuutouki660728.JPG) then it can be just about anywhere there is room for it. But that’s the only exception I’ve seen. I don’t run into many places that have dedicated entrances and exits. The only one I can think of in my city is the big 24-hr supermarket. There, looking from outside, the entrance is on the right and the exit is on the left, which is opposite from how people drive here. I don’t see all that many vertical light switches, except for in older buildings and circuit breakers (the only vertical switches in my place are on my circuit breaker). They are in my experience always up for on and down for off. Horizontal switches like [this](http://xn--48jwgy65kfhnts4c.jp/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/P10001001.jpg) are always right for on and left for off. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/52 "2014-08-05T08:19:44Z")
Some faucets: [http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/fisher-8inch-backsplash-mount-faucet-with-gooseneck-spout.jpg](http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/fisher-8inch-backsplash-mount-faucet-with-gooseneck-spout.jpg) [![](https://assets.moen.com/shared/images/ko_webpreview/l82691.jpg) ](https://assets.moen.com/shared/images/ko_webpreview/l82691.jpg) [![](http://dfc.scene7.com/is/image/DFC/base1/570LF-06ELH-B1.tif?extendN=.15,.15,.15,.15&op_usm=1,1,0,0&fmt=jpeg) ](http://dfc.scene7.com/is/image/DFC/base1/570LF-06ELH-B1.tif?extendN=.15,.15,.15,.15&op_usm=1,1,0,0&fmt=jpeg) you tell me ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/53 "2014-08-06T05:01:29Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Some faucets: > [http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/fisher-8inch-backsplash-mount-faucet-with-gooseneck-spout.jpg](http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/fisher-8inch-backsplash-mount-faucet-with-gooseneck-spout.jpg) > > [http://www.moen.com/shared/images/ko\_webpreview/l82691.jpg](http://www.moen.com/shared/images/ko_webpreview/l82691.jpg) > > [http://dfc.scene7.com/is/image/DFC/base1/570LF-06ELH-B1.tif?extendN=.15,.15,.15,.15&op\_usm=1,1,0,0&fmt=jpeg](http://dfc.scene7.com/is/image/DFC/base1/570LF-06ELH-B1.tif?extendN=.15,.15,.15,.15&op_usm=1,1,0,0&fmt=jpeg) > > you tell me Your second and third pics actually have the hot and cold sides marked – notice the little red and blue markings on the faucet handles. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/54 "2014-08-06T05:13:52Z")
1. Mens room Left 2. Cold water Right 3. Exit door Left 4. Pepper Right 5. Decaf coffee pot Right 6. Dryer Left ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/55 "2014-08-06T05:17:33Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Your second and third pics actually have the hot and cold sides marked – notice the little red and blue markings on the faucet handles. All three of them are marked. (Hot on all left) ---
**Author:** ![huitzilopochtli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@huitzilopochtli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/huitzilopochtli)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/56 "2014-08-07T00:40:32Z")
On the left 1. Men’s 2. Hot 3. Exit (while entering) 4. Pepper (if they are against the wall or in a caddy with an obvious front/back) 5. I guess left. I don’t recall being in a situation where the decaf wouldn’t be marked. 6. Washer ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686/57 "2014-08-07T02:37:40Z")
1. Mens room - uh, left 2. Cold water - right, no question 3. Exit door - the right 4. Pepper - not a clue. 5. Decaf coffee pot - not a clue. 6. Dryer - not a damned clue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-or-right-poll/694686.md?page=2)