Interesting And Fun Facts About Being A Leftie And A Southpaw
Attention all southpaws, this one’s for you!
Are you a leftie?
Do you know anyone that’s left-handed?
If you don’t you shouldn’t feel too bad about it because only a small percentage of
the population is left-handed.
It’s unclear what factors determine whether you will be born left or right-handed, however,
researchers believe there is a link between the environment and genetics.
Here are some interesting and fun facts you may not have known about left handed people.
Now, keep watching for interesting things you didn't know about lefties!!
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17) Where the word ‘left’ came from: According to the site The Word Detective, the use of
“right” as the opposite of “left” came from the simple fact that most humans
are “right-handed.”
It was considered the “proper” or “correct” hand because it was generally the stronger
and more dexterous (a word which comes from the Latin “Dexter,” meaning both “skillful”
and “right” as in “right-handed”).
This use of “right” as a relative direction arose in English in the early 13th century.
(stronger hand, morally upright, individual rights, etc.) and was a smashing popular success.
“Left,” on the other hand, has had a bit of a hard time.
The word “left” itself comes from Old English roots meaning “weak” or “foolish,”
and it wasn’t known as the opposite of “right” until the 13th century.
Interestingly, “left” replaced the Old English “winestra” as the common term
for the side of the body opposite to “right.”
Oddly enough, the old “winestra” also meant “friendlier,” and the name is thought
to have been a euphemism employed to avoid antagonizing the evil spirits that were thought
to dwell in the left side of the body.
16) Tennis: According to The Telegraph, some of the most famous tennis players in the world
were lefties.
In fact, seven of the first 17 champions in the Open era were left handed: Rod Laver,
Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe.
In addition to that, and as recently as 1998, left handers made up three of the top four
men's seeds - Marcelo Rios, Petr Korda, and Greg Rusedski - and left handers won the title
in 2001 (Goran Ivanisevic), 2008 and 2010 (both Nadal).
15) They have their own day: they have a day of their own to celebrate their left handedness.
August 13th is International Left-Handers Day.
Not sure if anyone actually celebrates it, but hey, now you know.
Maybe get your left handed friend a gift to let them know you appreciate them in all of
their left handed glory.
Do you know what percentage of the population is left handed?
Well, keep watching till the end to find out!
14) Animals: Apparently, animals can also be left-pawed, according to studies.
For example, one study performed by researchers at Turkey's Ataturk University found that
the majority of domestic cats are right-pawed (50 percent), 10 percent are ambidextrous,
and the remaining 40 percent are left-pawed.
According to another study by the University of Manchester, dogs tend to be more evenly
split - 50 percent being right-pawed, and the other 50 percent being left-pawed.
13) Astronaut facts: According to NASA, more than 20% of Apollo astronauts were left-handed.
This is either a coincidence or NASA specifically selects left-handed people.
That means that if you’re a southpaw maybe you should consider a career as an astronaut.
They have a cool job and, as we understand it, it pays pretty well.
Keep watching as we continue to countdown the top little known facts about left handed
people!
12) Creativity: A study proposed by University College London psychologist Chris McManus
suggests that left-handed people have a more highly developed right hemisphere, which is
associated with creativity and inventiveness.
In fact, some research has found that lefties are better at divergent thinking (the ability
to think of many solutions to a single problem, an indicator of creativity).
11) it may be hereditary: There is a hereditary and genetic aspect to being left-handed.
The Daily Mail reports that the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince
William were all left-handed.
As if they needed another trait to distinguish themselves from us commoners.
If you’re a southpaw you can tell people that you have something in common with the
Royals.
10) Criminals: According to an article published by The New Yorker, many of the world's most
notorious criminals and killers are left-handed.
Here are some examples: Osama bin Laden, the Boston Strangler, and Jack the Ripper.
So now that we’ve told you to celebrate your left-handed friends, we are now telling
you to be suspicious of them because apparently, they have a murderous streak
9) Twins: Studies state that twins are more likely to be lefties.
According to a study conducted by Syuichi Ooki, the prevalence of left-handedness is
higher in twins compared to singletons for several hypothesized reasons including intrauterine
crowding, mirror-imaging, and pre- and/or perinatal damage.
Another study suggests that twin populations may include two types of left-handers: natural
and pathological.
8) Mental health: According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Belgrade,
left-handedness has been linked to neurosis.
The study concluded that from a public health point of view, left-handed men may be regarded
as a relatively vulnerable population category concerning mental health.
7) physical health: Left-handedness seems to also be associated with physical health
issues, according to studies.
A research study published in 2007 by the British Journal of Cancer found that lefties
have a higher risk of breast cancer than right-handed people.
This is especially prevalent in cancer that occurs after menopause.
While those two factors seem entirely unrelated, both could be the result of something affecting
the fetus in its early development.
6) intelligence: According to a study conducted by Giovanni Sala, a Ph.D. candidate at the
University of Liverpool, and Fernand Gobet, professor of Decision Making and Expertise
at the University of Liverpool, left-handed people are good at math, architecture, and
spatial awareness.
All three of these things make an excellent architect.
5) Sports: Lefties are good at golf, boxing, baseball, and tennis according to linguist
Rik Smits.
In his book, The Puzzle of Left-Handedness, he explains that athletes, (left- and right-handed)
usually train against right-handed opponents.
However, when facing a leftie, southpaws can easily adjust but right-handed people are
at a disadvantage.
4) Birth: Stanley Coren, an experimental psychologist at the University of British Columbia found
that women that give birth in their 40s have 128 percent higher chance of giving birth
to a left-handed baby.
Why is that the case?
Coren explains that various stress factors are common among women over 40 and they could
produce a left-handed child, including .
3) Arthritis and Ulcers: It isn't all bad health-wise.
In 2005 a study published in the journal Laterality found that being left-handed was linked to
lower rates of arthritis and ulcers.
Gina Grimshaw, Ph.D, director of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Victoria
University of Wellington reveals that "the most likely explanation to me is that both
handedness and disease risk depends on genetics, and the interaction of hundreds of genes.
She also states that we've mostly given up on the idea that one or two genes explain
any of these things—and they have some of those genes in common."
genetics are much more complicated than that, folks!
2) Sleep: If you are left-handed, a disruptive sleep disorder may influence your sleep differently,
according to studies.
A study by Dawn Alita R. Hernandez, a professor of medicine at the University of Toledo Medical
Centre in Ohio, found that among people who have a sleep disorder that causes rhythmic
movements in the night, the left-handed are more likely to move both sides of their body.
Now that you know some pretty interesting and fun facts about left handed people, here
is the percentage of the population that is left handed!
1.
According to an article published on MSN, only about 10% of the population is thought
to be left-handed.
So what causes someone to be left-handed or right-handed?
A DNA quirk or an inherited trait?
Scientists are still unsure about the answer.
If you do happen to have a left-handed person in your life, cherish them!
There are so few in the world.
Interesting, right?
Are you left handed?
Which fun facts from this video are true about you?
What did you find the most interesting?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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Thanks for watching!
So if you’re a southpaw, consider yourself a unique person - because there aren’t many
like you in the world!
So, whether being a southpaw comes from genetics or just plain old luck, you gotta admit, it
must be cool to be a left handed person in a world where most of the population is right
handed!