Corry Fisted.

"Do you know why they drive on the left hand side of the road in England?" Dr Mallard questioned Jimmy, after one particularly hazard journey back from the crime scene with their guest, it had happened when Jimmy had seemingly kept swaying to the left.

Jimmy shook his head, he had tried to keep the van on the right side, right side he inwardly smiled, it hadn't been his fault that it had turned out there was a malfunction with the steering.

"It dates back to medieval times, in England. I say England because America didn't really have a medieval time," as Ducky began to mark the body for dissection. "Most people were, and still are, right handed, only 9% of the world's population is left-handed, except for the Yanomami tribe in the Amazon who are 23% left handed,"now looking up and staring Jimmy in the face, "It allowed them, not the tribe, to slash at one another when passing on horseback," as Ducky waved the scalpel, he was now holding at Mr Palmer. "Why, you might ask, doesn't this hold true for the rest of Europe and of course America?"

"Agent McGee is left-handed," Jimmy added.

"Quite," as Ducky now sliced the chest in a V to begin the autopsy. "Up until to the late 1700's, everybody travelled on the left side of the road. Why?" as he saw the look on Jimmy's face, "Because it's the sensible option for feudal, violent societies of mostly right-handed people."

"Jousting knights with their lances under their right arm naturally passed on each other's right, and if you passed a stranger on the road you walked on the left to ensure that your protective sword arm was between yourself and him."

"I understand now but did it not go back further?" Jimmy now sheepishly asked.

"Oh yes…the history of the keep-left rule can be tracked back to ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, and was more widely practised than right-side traffic. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans adhered to the left side while marching their troops. If two men riding on horseback were to start a fight, each would edge toward the left. Thus, they would be able to draw swords from their right and uphold a defensive position. Eventually, this turned into custom, and later, a law," Ducky continued as he now prised back the skin to expose the chest and ribs.

"It was Revolutionary France, however, who overturned this practice as part of its sweeping social rethink," Ducky continued now looking about for the rib cutters. "A change was carried out all over continental Europe by Napoleon."

"Napoleon?" Jimmy questioned.

"Yes, the reason it changed under Napoleon," Dr Mallard continued, as he stopped cutting and looked again at Jimmy, "Was because he was corry-fisted, his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent, of course from then on, any part of the world which was at some time part of the British Empire was thus left hand and any part colonised by the French was right hand."

"Fascinating Dr Mallard, corry-fisted?" as Jimmy watched Ducky lift his left hand and make into a fist, "I hadn't thought of it like that as I never knew Napoleon was one of the 9% left handers or corry-fisted as you so now put it." Jimmy now smiled he understood.

"Now in America it was a different kettle of fish. The French colonised the southern states, Louisiana and the Canadian east coast, Quebec. The Dutch colonised New York or New Amsterdam as they called it. The Spanish and Portuguese colonised the southern Americas. So the British were a minority in shaping the 'traffic' over here so to speak," as Ducky laughed at his own little joke.

"Fascinating," was all Jimmy could say now holding out the dish for Ducky to place the three bullets in.

"To Abby please. But it was in the late 18th century, the shift from the left to the right took place in most countries. In the United States it was based on teamsters, or as you would call them truck drivers. In the past teamsters had large freight wagons pulled by pairs of horses, the wagons had no drivers seats so the driver would sit on the left rear horse, and being right handed held his whip in that hand. And of course sitting on the left he allowed the other wagons to pass on his left thus ensuring he could see the wheels of the oncoming wagons. And so Mr Palmer that is why you ended up driving on the right. That and of course to distance yourselves from the English. It was also of course, to cast off all remaining links with Britain and its past."

"But Dr Mallard, I read somewhere that Japan still drives on the left, I never knew why when the rest of Asia is right," Jimmy asked, as he screwed the lit on the specimen tub.

"Although Japan was never part of the British Empire, its traffic does also keep to the left. This practice goes back all the way to the Edo period, which would be from 1603 to 1867 when the Samurai ruled the country. The sword again, but it wasn't until 1872 that this unwritten rule became official. That was the year when Japan's first railway was introduced."

"What has that got to do with driving on the left," Jimmy now questioned thinking this was getting deep.

"Three countries approached the Japanese government to help them build a railway system. These three countries were America, France, and Britain. In the end, Britain won out. It was in 1872 the first Japanese railway was up and running thanks to the British. If American or French railways had been built instead, Japan would probably be driving on the right side of the road today. Horse railways and electric tram cars followed the left-side driving precedent set by the railways in Japan. Finally in 1924, left-side driving was mandated as official law."

"But the defeat of Japan in 1945 did that not change things?"

"Oh yes after the defeat of Japan during, Okinawa was under control of the United States and made all the Japanese drive on the right. Okinawa only changed back to driving on the left when it was returned to Japan. The change took place on July 30, 1978. It is one of the only places to have changed from right to left hand traffic in the late twentieth century. Now Mr Palmer, to Abby," as Ducky pointed to the jar, "And I will put the kettle on, all that talking has made me thirsty."

Jimmy turned and smiling walked away to Abby's lab.

The End