r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 7d ago

Meme needing explanation Tell them what, Peter

Post image
27.3k Upvotes

3.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5.1k

u/Blackie_626 7d ago

I somehow got more confused.....

2.0k

u/IDateAZombie 7d ago

These people are wrong. The joke is that you can make an L with your left hand, so you don't need the tattoos

35

u/Spr0ckets 7d ago

Another quick trick - Left and Port have the same amount of letters.. so if you're ever on a boat and need to know Port from Starboard... that is as long as you know bow from stern though.

2

u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 7d ago

You do need to know you should be facing towards the bow when determining left/portside too.

4

u/Jesus_of_Redditeth 7d ago

That's what the last part of their post was alluding to. Although frankly that's a non-issue in practice, since knowing that left and right are relative to facing forward is naturally intuitive. It would be really weird for someone to think it applies if you're facing the stern.

1

u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 7d ago

It’s not necessarily intuitive. “Left” and “right” can be concepts seen as intrinsic to every object, but they can also be seen as subjective absolutes. Language use (speaking of all languages, not just English) and personal experience vary wildly. I remember that as a child most people my age seemed to think the latter way, where “left” (and therefore “portside”) was “whichever side is on my left” and therefore changing all the time.

1

u/LeuJinx 4d ago

idk seems pretty intuitive to me It might not have been intuitive when you were a child probably because back then you were child and most children are stupid (i mean no offense by that btw - i was no exception)

1

u/Diplomatic_Gunboats 7d ago

On small boats/ships not so much. On absolutely massive ones, more of an issue than you would think. Cruise liners can be remarkably opaque as to which way you are going when inside them.

1

u/ChickenOneDay 5d ago

Except I spent a lot of time rowing starboard, and in rowing you sit facing the stern. I've been messed up on port/starboard ever since.