In other countries, carousels rotate from right to left, not left to right, like here in America. Here, they go counter-clockwise, so that traffic is in the same direction as one would walk past it. In England, it’s clockwise, which allows the potential rider to mount their animals in the proper way – left foot first, then swing the right leg over.

Why is it different here? We were more concerned with a brass ring, which hung just out of reach. As the carousel span round and round, people could “reach for the brass ring.” As most of us are right handed, the machine had to go in a counter-clockwise direction to enable the free right hand to reach for the ring.

The merry-go-round is much simpler. It just spins in circles. It’s democratic, too. It can spin this way or that. Either way, it makes plenty of people, both left and right handed, throw up.

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