The picture to your left is, "The Left Hand" by french sculptor, Auguste Rodin.I am left handed. My mother was left handed, also. The definition of left handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities.
Did you know that being left handed is more common in males than females and approximately thirteen percent of the world population is left handed.
Some believe that it is inherited and some believe that it comes from your environment. It does run in families but not one of my three children is left handed.
In the Middle Ages the devil was considered a southpaw and left-handed people lived in danger of being accused of practicing witchcraft.
I bet you did not know that August 13th is National Left-Handers' Day!
Some fascinating facts about left handed people:
Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right.
There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.
Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handed people particularly if they are made to try and change to their right hand.
Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.
Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing.
Left-handers usually reach puberty 4 to 5 months after right-handers.
Four of the five original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed.
One in four Apollo astronauts were left-handed - 250% more than the normal level.
Years ago, when my mother attended school, they tied her left hand behind her and tried to make her write with her right hand.
I write and eat with my left hand but most other things are done with my right hand. I have always had trouble with scissors, butter knives, and the hand can openers.
Here is a funny story about Burger King and The Left-Handed Whopper:
Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.). However, the left-handed whopper had "all condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of the condiments will skew to the left, thereby reducing the amount of lettuce and other toppings from spilling out the right side of the burger."
Jim Watkins, senior vice president for marketing at Burger King, was quoted as saying that the new sandwich was the "ultimate 'HAVE IT YOUR WAY' for our left-handed customers." The advertisement then noted that the left-handed Whopper would initially only be available in the United States, but that the company was "considering plans to roll it out to other countries with large left-handed populations." The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version!!!!!!
Some presidents of the United States that were left handed include:
James A. Garfield
Herbert Hoover
Harry S. Truman
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
George H.W. Bush
Bill Clinton
The presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are both left handed.
Are you left handed, or do you have left handed friends and family?
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19 comments:
I do find it very odd that you are left handed and Dad was left handed but Leigh and I both are right handed! Very strange! hehe
Love you!
Anne
Hi again Judy:
My daughter is left handed. I am going to have her read your article, it's wonderful. I am not left handed, however, her father was born left handed but his mother said she "would not have a south paw in the family", so she made him use his right hand and he became right handed. I would not have done that to my child, but she had seven children and I guess it was too much for her to have one that was a "lefty". My ex-husband's uncle was left handed as well, so we have always believed that my ex-husband and my daughter received the gene from him. I've always heard the expression that "left handed people think in their right mind". I have always told my daughter that. She is very creative and I am proud of my "left handed daughter!" On the other hand (lol) my three boys are all right handed. If creativity is associated with left handed people, it helps explain why you have such a wonderful creative blog and are so creative in your life.
This was another great story that you have written! Have a good day!
Kelly
I am not left handed but my daughter, who is dyslexic, is ambidextrous. My grandmother and one aunt were left handed.
Hi,
I have always been fascinated by left-handers and the way they hold their paper upside down to write. I had a very good teacher friend who wrote left-handed. Also, some of my great grandchildren are left handed. Very interesting article.
What an interesting piece, especially to me as I am left-handed, too. None of my three kids are, and I don't know about my grandkids. I do not write with my hand upside-down because I had an enlightened teacher who just told me to turn my paper the other way. That was very forward-thinking when I was little MANY years ago. As a result, I have normal and pretty nice handwriting, if I do say so myself. I do everything left handed except swing a bat or golf club and eat with a fork. My dad insisted I use my right hand when eating because he had an uncle who always jabbed him when eating left-handed and sitting next to Dad. I CAN write legibly with my right hand, but only will if I must. I write mirror images very well, too. I like being left-handed and different from the mainstream.
Thanks for looking at my painting and your kind words. It is one of my favorites!
Hello from a fellow southpaw! Here's another left-handed fact: polar bears are left pawed.
I'm pretty much 100% left handed and footed. So was my father. My niece is the only other left handed person in my family. She writes left handed but does everything right handed. Strange, but true.
This post is so interesting. My husband was left handed. (And he stuttered as a child.) I am pretty much right handed, but for years could use both hands, even to sign my name. Arthritis has changed that. Two of our children were lefties and two righties. Fun fact: my youngest was born on August 12 - and the 13th is Nat'l Left-Handers Day. They just couldn't make it one day earlier!
I HAVE A SON WHO IS A LEFTY AND MY DAUGHTER IS ALSO. OF THE 8 OF US MY YOUNGEST BROTHER IS LEFT HANDED.
Those were interesting facts. I follow cricket and always thought that left-handed batsmen were very elegant to watch.
Everyone in my family is right handed except my oldest grandson.
Fascinating facts about southpaws. You did your research well.
Although no one in my family is a southpaw I have a good friend who is left handed and I try to remember to put the cutlery on the opposite side when she dines at my house.
Thanks Judy there's a lot I didn't know about lefties that I now do. My 'pal' who died recently was left-handed and I used to have near heart failure watching her cut up vegetables an all, I was always afraid she would cut herself I know it's daft but it's really weird watching someone cut the opposite way!! Oh and your point about LH drawing figures is bang on too, I am RH and I always when I am drawing/sketching facing them the opposite direction. Definitely something to do with how the brain operates.. There is so much we don't know as far as human brains go.
I thought it TAKES TWO HANDS TO HANDLE A WHOPPER....that's what they use to say on there add....in fact it was a singing add.... what will they come up with next... My middle two kids are lefty's, as was my dad.....but I can't imagine any of them going into BurgerKing and asking for a left handed burger....it's a little nutty to me.....but then, what isn't nutty these days....LOL judy
What an interesting post, Judy! There sure are a lot of distinguished Southpaws out there! My daughter is right-handed, but became quite agile with her left hand after she broke her right arm. Thanks for the fascinating post.
Judy, looks as though there are a lot of left handers out there by the response you've received from this bog.
I am so impressed with all your useful information. I LOVE YOUR blog and look forward to the day you add more useful info.
One of my daughters is left handed, she married a man who is left handed, so far I think we have at least one of her boys who is going to be.
Blessings, and keep up the good work. Have a great week-end.
Hi Judy,
One of my 3 children was left handed. We never tried to get her to switch. The only thing was that it was harder to help her learn to do things like crochet and that sort of thing! LOL- but she figured things out the way she wanted. She became my artistic daughter!
Junie
Judy,
You are so right about how lucky Mikey going to Europe and your son traveling all over Europe were for them. I think it's great that your son was able to go for 6 weeks! I'm sure that while he was gone time caused you a little worry but it's good to know that he has never forgotten his wonderful experiences!
Kelly
I'm right handed, my parents and grandparents are/were all right handed, my hubby is right handed, and my kids are right handed. I have a cousin who is left handed.
I've tried writing and batting a baseball left handed, and it was really hard. This makes me sad and mad at anyone who ever tried to force a left handed kid to use their right hand.
I wish I could use both hands equally efficiently.
I also wish I was double & triple jointed so I could bend like those Cirque de Soliel performers.
Interesting left handed facts. I am right handed. My Dad was right handed and then changed to his left hand in later life! I've never known anyone to do that before!
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