It's an idea that pops up on Reddit: that Americans have a unique propensity lean on things. Walls. Chairs. Anything to keep from supporting the entirety of our body weight with our own legs. Some posit that leaning is so uniquely American, the CIA has to train spies not to do it. Where did this idea come from?

It’s an idea that pops up on Reddit from time to time: that Americans have a unique propensity lean on things. Walls. Chairs. Anything to keep from supporting the entirety of our body weight with our own two legs. In fact, some posit that leaning is so uniquely American, the CIA has to train spies not to do it.

Is this baloney? Where did the idea that only Americans lean come from?