Pondering....

You know that strange phenomenon, where two people are walking in opposite directions down the sidewalk, or in an aisle in the Chinese imports store, and as you near the other person you both begin to doubt on which side the bypass should be made?
The other day I was walking through said import store, contemplating mysteries of the universe and also trying to decide whether I should purchase a salad or frozen pizza for dinner. As I walked down an aisle contemplating these meaningful life decisions I encountered a lady moving in the opposite direction down the same aisle. We were both moving at a superb rate, right at each other. I, in my customary gentlemanlike behavior, decided to let her decide which side to pass on and let her make the first move to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, she must have been a feminist at heart who couldn’t bear to let me be a gentleman without a fight. At what seemed like the last moment I decided to abandon my illusionary character and made the first move, side stepping to avoid her; at the same moment she gave into her femininity and also moved to the side; the same side as I had chosen. Luckily both of our brakes seemed to work well and we managed to stop ourselves with a good foot to spare from a life ending impact.
Though this not only proved that women just inflict problems for us men, it also caused an embarrassing situation as we both did a little dance trying to get around each other, which we eventually did.
I don’t know if there is a prescribed name for these aisle dance encounters, other than “awkward” of course, but as I walked away I wondered why they didn’t happen more often. Then it came to me; normally when walking in stores we use the same set of rules as those used on roads and highways, we normally walk on the right hand side of the sidewalk or aisle we are traversing on. Of course, this would also make perfect sense because aisle dances, like care accidents, are normally caused by women……just kidding of course.
I wonder though, how and on which side of the aisle and sidewalk to people pass each other on in European countries that carry a different set of driving rules? Do foreigners who visit these countries cause confusion when they walk as well as talk perhaps? I wonder if there are more human collisions with foreigners, both for us and them. I don’t know where to find such awe inspiring studies though, I’m sure some college somewhere has deemed this a worthwhile subject to inquire upon with our tax dollars via a government grant but I can’t seem to locate it. If you find it let me know.