So the other day something dawned on me. One of those things that I've always known, but never noticed that it's kinda weird: Which side of something is the left and which the right depends on whether it is animate. When you're standing in front of Bob, facing each other, his right side and your right side aren't on the same side. However, as you stand facing, say, and armoire, its right side is on your right. As you perceive things that have some semblance of a "front", the left and right are swapped if the subject is endowed with its own capacity for perception. How funny is this? You are blind folded and put in front of something (or someone) that is "facing you", then are told to point at the object's right side. Now I know my right from my left, but it turns out this isn't such an easy question! I haven't lost sleep over this, but the whole thing gets pretty murky when you consider

• things naturally without arms, such as snakes
• things where the physical norms are askew, like flounder
• "to the right of X" vs "to X's right" vs "X's right Y"*"5 feet to the armoire's right" seems odd, but "the armoire's right door" doesn't
• statues of animate things
• ...a statue of a flounder to the left—I mean right...uhm—of a statue of a person

I'm pretty sure I'm still right handed, even though I write with the hand that's on your left. Weird.