iPhones Rule: I got so curious about the right/left HAND side thing, so I researched it and here’s what I found:
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1- I suppose that ‘hand’ is used to distinguish from right as in correct. By that logic, we use hand on the other side, too, to distinguish from left as in remaining.
2- Handedness is perhaps the most common way of teaching someone left from right. While there are other natural things that exhibit consistent directionality (the circular flow of water in a drain in a given hemisphere; the rotation of the earth when seen from above a particular pole, etc.) none is as readily accessible to the viewer as her or his own handedness. Most of us know from an early age which of our hands is dominant, and that is labeled by our elders as either right or left, depending on our proclivities (let’s skip the brain dominance discussion for now).
We can then identify whether the direction or side we are considering corresponds to our right or left side, based on our knowledge of our dominant hand. I think the hand reference when discussing side is a reflection (residual) of this basic analysis we learned in our youth.
3- ?Does anyone think it could have something to do with the cadence [the way a person’s voice changes by gently rising and falling while he or she is speaking] in “right-hand side”? In “right side” there is a longer pause between the words. Consider also for instance the fact that people tend to say, “Where’s it at?” and not “Where’s it?”?