Set the clock, Lincoln

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Betty, that makes sense. I assumed something similar (symbol of independence), but was not sure. As for the Brits' left-side driving, there exist many different explanations wherein that origins, IMO this is the most likely one:

In the Middle Ages you kept to the left for the simple reason that you never knew who you'd meet on the road in those days. You wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so you could go for your sword in case he proved unfriendly.(For the same reason most ancient spiral staircases wind up clockwise, so it was easier to defend your castle from the top.)

This custom was given official sanction in 1300 AD, when Pope Boniface VIII invented the modern science of traffic control by declaring that pilgrims headed to Rome should keep left.

The papal system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat. Instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy's wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road. The first known keep-right law in the U.S. was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1792, and in the ensuing years many states and Canadian provinces followed suit.

( http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read...n-the-left )

Have you ever experienced meeting a British car on the road with a huge dog on "the driver's (= their passenger) seat"?