#1923

[389]

Rene Magritte Reckless Sleeper 1927

[dirbenaffleck]

BRANDON SKLENAR as SPENCER DUTTON 1923 ‧ Created by Taylor Sheridan

[yesterdaysprint]

England, 1923

[nemfrog]

W. ABC book. 1923. C.B. Falls, arrtist.

Internet Archive

[frostedmagnolias]

Dress

about 1923

Gisella Gown Shop

Newfields

[zegalba]

Stephan Korwin: Basil (1923)

[cosmonautroger]

Star Wars, 1923

[questionableadvice]

~ Crocker-Langley San Francisco City Directory, 1923

[undergroundrockpress]

Albert Vargas / 1923

[lepetitdragonvert]

The Fairy Queen’s Message by Ellen Flory

Artist : Helen Jacobs

1923

[justaholesir]

BRANDON SKLENAR as Spencer Dutton 1923 (2022 TV Series) created by Taylor Sheridan

[dirbenaffleck]

BRANDON SKLENAR 1923 ‧ Created by Taylor Sheridan

[mapsontheweb]

Driving direction by country, 1923

by bezzleford 

This map shows the driving direction (or just general traffic direction) in 1923.

1923!

Some comments:

Mixed?! - Some countries had different driving directions depending on where in the country. For example, some Canadian provinces drove on the left until 1924 when the last province, Prince Edward Island, switched. As of 1923 only Nova Scotia and PIE drove on the left in Canada (as well as Newfoundland which wasn't part of Canada at the time).

Are any countries mixed today? - Most mixed countries standardised between the 1920s and 1940s. Today China is the only country where it can be argued that different parts drive on different sides of the road - as Hong Kong and Macau drive on the left vs. the Mainland which drives on the right. This obviously excludes countries with overseas territories (e.g. the UK's Gibraltar, or the US Virgin Islands)

What about the Unknowns? - I tried my best to find data on every country/territory. I couldn't find anything on direction of bidirectional traffic in Tibet. Unlike places like Oman, which never 'switched' to the left, as Tibet was absorbed by mixed China, I wasn't sure of their direction then. While there are sources detailing the driving direction of various Italian provinces, I couldn't find anything for Italy's overseas territories.

It's 1923! No one drove back then! - Keep left/right laws have been around way before cars. Althoug h by 1923 cars were mainstream (I believe?) in western cities. But even areas of low car use had keep left/right laws - see here (attached) Saint John in New Brunswick (Canada) where the keep left rule was in place in 1899.

And because this server can get very serious, here's some fun driving-direction trivia!

Myanmar (Burma) switched to driving on the right in 1970 under the orders of dictator Ne Win. There's various circulating stories about why he did this, including that he had a 'dream to go right' or that he met with an astrologer who told him to do it.

The last country to switch driving direction was Samoa, which switched to driving on the left in 2009.

Argentina switched to driving on the right on 10th June 1945. This day is still recognised today as Road Safety Day (Día de la Seguridad Vial)

Any questions about the various countries above (e.g. when they switched) please message below!

[nemfrog]

Imaginary view of an eclipse from space. The Home and school reference work. v.11. 1923.

Internet Archive

[archiveofaffinities]

Times Square, Four-Decker lighted billboards and O.J. Gude Spectaculars, 1923

[mioritic]

Girl from Sângeorz-Băi, Bistrița-Năsăud, Transylvania, Romania, 1923

Photographed by Romulus Vuia (1887–1963)

Muzeul Etnografic al Transilvaniei, via transylvania.heritage