>>Spitting is (now) a social taboo but doesn't need LAW enforcement.
>>Mind you, I live in a town where there are laws against just about anything if you dig deep enough and I suspect there's one on spitting (probably spitoons (know what those are?) are exempt). Maybe we need "Spitting Enforcement Officers". Or municipal spitoons < s >?
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>I can remember when the buses used to have "No Spitting" stencilled on the bulkheads. I guess that was in an attempt to stop the spread of TB, before it was "conquered".
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>When I was younger, and escorting a girlfriend, I'd always walk on the outside of the sidewalk. This is an old chivalry intended to help defend the lady from "footpads". My mother would joke that it's so the man can spit in the gutter :-)

Another source of a man walking on the outside and a woman on the inside comes from Italy. This is not a joke but can be found in historical references.

The woman walked on the inside in case someone threw garbage out of a window or door. That would give the man a better chance to not get hit.