Which side of the bed is the left side? Is the answer based on the perspective of laying in the bed (person’s head at the head end)? Is the answer based on viewing it from the foot of the bed, looking at the head of the bed? Is there an “anatomical position” or special terminology like in boating for this?
For context: My boyfriend and I can’t agree on this. We change who gets which side based on the shoulder we’d predominantly sleep on and how it’s feeling. This let’s us get good cuddles before shoulder pain gets irritated. He comes to bed after me. A while back he asked what side I’m sleeping on. I said “left”. Later that night, he comes in and almost lays directly on me because he claims “left” is the other side. Since then we have to describe which side using complicated descriptions.
My wife sleeps in the middle, like a snow angel, so I always sleep on what’s left.
Or what’s right.
What’s left ain’t right.
take a cue from the theater folk: stage left/right is defined by the performers’ perspective. Call it “bed left” and “bed right” to talk about it from the perspective of someone on the bed, and “standing left” or “standing right” to talk about the perspective of someone looking at the bed
Although it’s kinda silly to me that anyone’s default orientation would be from looking at the bed, which is not the position most commonly associated with the thing famous for laying in it.
But that’s the position you most commonly look at a bed from. And when figuring out where you’re gonna get into the bed.
Like the only time you actually use the information about sides of bed is from the perspective of outside the bed.
that’s another flaw: standing left only conflicts with bed left if you’re standing at the foot. At the head they’re the same. On either side, it’s an arbitrary decision.
Whereas bed left will always be the same side of the bed regardless of its shape, its orientation in the room, or your position in relation to it.
Right, left if you’re looking at the bed from the foot.
Stage right, stage left if you’re looking out from the bed toward the foot.
He did theater stuff in HS, so we may adapt this if neither of us concede. Good work around.
Theater stuff in high school… Is that like making out backstage after rehearsal?
Probably along the same lines as band camp. I’m sure there’s a few “This one time…” stories.
We use “my side” and “your side” so it’s always correct from any perspective.
Lie in bed on your back. Stick out your left hand. That is the left side of the bed. Stick out your right hand. That is the right side of the bed.
Completely arbitrary.
Forget left-right. Use port and starboard.
This is the correct answer. It’s how ships avoid running into each other. When whoever is steering the vessel is facing the bow (front, usually the pointy bit), port is their left, starboard their right. Ship’s running lights are red on the port side, green on the left. So if you’re out on the water at night, you can immediately see whether a ship is coming towards you or moving away. The rule for passing an oncoming vessel is “port to port”, thus avoiding confusion and collision.
Sitting up in bed I would consider the headboard the stern, because I have my back to it, and the foot the bow. So the area to starboard is right, and portside is left. Ahoy maties!!!
Well, so which is the front and which is the back?
Beds have a head and a foot, so the head is fore and the foot aft.
The front is where the spoiler isn’t.
Race car beds FTW.
I actually love this. Imagine all cars are race car beds and then use driver and passenger side lol.
Where is the head and foot of the bed? Where are the top and the bottom? If the bed were stood up on the foot, is the top the front or the back? These questions may have something to do with the answer or are completely meaningless.
port-side?
I’d say it’d be from the perspective of laying in it, since no one cares what side of the bed is which unless they’re going to lay in it
Ah, but as you say, people only care when they’re “going to” lay in it, meaning they’re not in the bed yet. Once you’re in bed, you pretty much never need to specify the left or right side, you can say “shit, i spilled a drink on your side!”
So, since we only care about left and right sides while we’re not in bed, I say who cares about the in-bed perspective. What matters is how it is oriented while you’re standing up and looking at it. So that’s how I’d assign left and right side.
This!
End thread.
“Complicated descriptions”? Is there a lamp on one side, or a closet door? Just use that as a frame of reference, I wouldn’t call that a complicated description. Or, if you usually have the same bigs-poon, little-spoon orientation, you can describe which shoulder you’re laying on. But I still think using features of the room is the simplest way. “I’m laying on the closet side.”
Fair point. Complicated descriptions may have an exaggeration, but relative to simply left/right it’s still mildly accurate. I’m not a sensory thinker so pulling from objects other than what I’m referencing seems like adding a few extra cognitive steps. Silly, I’m aware, but that’s my brain.
Imagine you are driving the bed. If you lean up you’re looking forward. You could call them driver and passenger side based on this. Sort of like port and starboard lol.
but that would make beds the other way around in some countries
It is left as an exercise for the bed users who are from countries which drive on different side of the roads to determine their own phrasing.
Imagine you are driving the bed
actually quite enjoyable, ty!
