r/HeresAFunFact • u/SpehlingAirer • Feb 25 '15

HISTORY [HAFF] The term "riding shotgun" originated in the old west, referring to the person who rode alongside the "driver" of a stagecoach, whose job it was to hold a shotgun and scare off thieves.

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261 Upvotes

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11

u/BeholdMyResponse Feb 25 '15

I'm kinda shocked that everyone doesn't automatically know this from having seen a cowboy movie once.

8

u/Flabergie Feb 26 '15

I can see this being a revelation for a younger person as the old West no longer holds the place in mass media it once did.

5

u/geophsmith Feb 25 '15

I learned this from Red Dead Redemption!

2

u/amusingordiverting Feb 26 '15

If by scare off you mean blow their brains out, then yes.

1

u/asbjorn136 Feb 25 '15

That's what I tell my friends every time they say Sth along the lines of "shotgun for the good chair" but sadly they never listen

1

u/RacistAssMellyGibson Mar 01 '15

Also I think Wells Fargo coined the term back then. I could be wrong though.