ELI5 Left & Right Wings in Politics - why the Elephant and Donkey as mascots?

Why do we call it Left and Right in politics? Where did the Left and Right wings originate from? Is it true that young people are generally more Left leaning? Where did the mascots of the Republican Elephant and Democratic Donkey come from? ... We explain like i'm five!   Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community as always and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: conchickawawa, rhynchelma, madmoneymcgee, commietau, reallybigleg, slowings, lpzthehvy & arriver To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: [email protected]