I often find myself lamenting the lack of sidewalks here in Malaysia. Sometimes I think it’s silly to feel annoyed that there are so few real sidewalks here, but I just can’t help it.

Well, maybe it’s simply in my blood to feel that way: while googling for some further information on the members of my family mentioned in my previous post, I discovered that my great-granduncle Joseph MacVay’s son, William Alexander MacVay (technically my first cousin, twice removed), actually co-invented the sidewalk as we know it today. The Wikipedia article on sidewalks says:

Arthur Wesley Hall and William Alexander McVay invented concrete sidewalks and partitions in St. Stephen, New Brunswick in 1924.

The source given for that is page seven of a book called Memorable Maritime Inventions (1828-1930), which I can’t find any mention of online outside of references to sidewalks. Anyway, obscurity of the source aside, it’s an interesting little fact, and yet another reason for me to try to get in touch with Bill MacVay, William Alexander MacVay’s 89-year-old son.

And I still find it annoying that there aren’t a lot of sidewalks over here, but I kind of understand, given that it’s too hot to walk anywhere anyway. Sigh.