Another little U.S./Canada difference

I have a longer post in mind for later. Right now, while I'm waiting for someone to come into the office to answer a question, I have time for a quick posting.

Robert, the president of the company I work for, noticed something about the leather jacket I was wearing the other day. The zipper was on the left-hand side. He said that women's jackets have the zipper on the left, men's have it on the right.

My jacket was most definitely a men's jacket, but it was made in Toronto in the garment district. When I got home I did a quick check. Two jackets and a fleece sweater with zippers that I purchased in Canada have the zipper on the left. One jacket I bought in Canada has the zipper on the right, but it was made in the U.S. Alana's fleece sweater had the zipper on the right, but it's reversable and I couldn't tell which was the "original" side. Her raincoat has the zipper on the right, but she said that it was a men's jacket.

So, it appears that the U.S. and Canada differ in this respect. Of course, being right handed, I find the Canadian method superior. You hold the zipper side still while you maneuver the other side into the zipper and end piece. It's (slightly) easier for me to do this with my right hand.

This, of course, begs the question of why men's and women's zipper sides differ. I mean, what's the point? If there's a slight advantage to it one way or the other, half the population is being slightly inconvenienced. If there is no advantage, why are manufacturers not increasing efficiency and decreasing cost by making only one type of zipper?

Just some silly trivia for you to ponder.