Are you or do you have a left-handed person in the family? I remember when my son was young and I watched as he began to learn how to use a fork. I noticed he held it in his left hand. I mentioned it to my doctor just wondering when you knew for sure if your child was right or left handed. She told me that at his age you just can’t tell. Over time it became evident that he was predominantly left handed.
Sunday as we were waiting in the urgent care room I mentioned to my son that it was a good thing he was left handed. Saturday during his soccer game he tripped and jammed his right thumb and we were making sure it wasn’t broken (thankfully it was just a sprain). He said to me he doesn’t understand how I can write with my right hand. I said I couldn’t understand how he could write with his left. He does most things with his left hand and even kicks with his left foot. However there are some things he does with his right hand like use a computer mouse, he bats right handed, but pitches left handed.
I thought it would be fun to put together some fun facts about left-handers. Just a note I do not pretend to assume any of these facts are true and thought they were just fun!
Left Handed Fun Facts
- There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.
- Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing.
- 4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed.
- Between 10-12% of people on earth are “lefties.”
- Many people who are left-handed draw figures that face to the right.
- One in four Apollo astronauts were left-handers.
- About 30 million people in the United States are left-handed.
- Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.
- Lefties seem to be overrepresented among geniuses. There were more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people (according to a recent study).
- Studies have shown that if a left-hander injures his dominant hand, he has an easier time learning to use the other hand than his right-handed counterparts
- Left-handers are generally more intelligent, better looking, imaginative and multi-talented than right handers – Well, at least according to a survey given to lefties!
Signs Your Baby May Be Left Handed
- Lefties seem to be overrepresented among geniuses. According to research done at St. Lawrence University in New York, there were more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people.
- One other potential sign of having a left-handed baby is the age of the mother. When expectant mothers are over 40 the babies are over 125% more likely to be left-handed. Oh, and if you are expecting twins, you should know that there is a high tendency for one twin to be left-handed.
Famous Left Handed People in History
- Benjamin Franklin
- Ronald Reagan
- George H.W. Bush
- Bill Clinton
- Barack Obama
- Joan of Arc
- Julius Caesar
- Henry Ford
Famous Left Handed Celebrities
- Bill Gates
- Leonardo Da Vinci
- Tim Allen
- Tom Cruise
- Jim Henson
- Kermit the Frog
- Angelina Jolie
- Marilyn Monroe
- Oprah Winfrey
- Bruce Willis
- Julia Roberts
- Justin Bieber