Are you left-handed? There aren't too many. Here are a few interesting facts and a list of some famous people who are also left-handed.

For the past few days, Pop-Pop has been overseeing Keri Jill with her homeschool lessons.
Pop-Pop thinks it’s pretty special that he, Keri and Keri’s Mommy are all left-handed.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged
Proverbs 17:6

Dominate hand preference

The preference for use of a particular hand is known as handedness. The dominate hand of an individual gives them a faster or better performance with the hand. The less capable or less preferred hand is called the non-dominant hand.

There are different degrees of handedness. Some people express a strong level of “left-handed” or “right-handed” and many fall between the two extremes.

Right-handedness is most common. Right-handed people are more skillful with their right hands when performing tasks. Studies suggest that 88–92% of the world population is right-handed.

Left-handedness is far less common than right-handedness. Left-handed people are more skillful with their left hands when performing tasks. Studies suggest that approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed. Men are somewhat more likely to express a strongly dominant left hand than women.

Ambidexterity is when a person is equally adapted in the use of both the left and the right hand. Only about one percent of people are naturally ambidextrous.

Why are some people left-handed?

Scientists aren’t exactly sure why some people are left-handed. They know that genes are responsible about 25% of the time. Left-handedness does tend to run in families but there are many other factors to consider making some people lefties and others not. Identical twins, who share the same genes, can sometimes have different dominant hands. There are many theories on what else might determine which hand you write with.

The overall chance of being left-handed is relatively low. Even though there is a greater chance that left-handed parents have left-handed kids, most children of left-handed parents are right-handed. If you look far enough in your family tree, you may be surprised to find a number of lefties there.

Interesting facts

Left-handedness is about twice as common in twins than in the general population. A 1996 Belgian study found that about 21% of twins, both fraternal and identical, are left-handed.
Lefties have the upper hand (pun intended) when it comes to one-on-one sports like hockey, tennis, boxing, and pitching a baseball.
Being left-handed does not effect longevity. It was once thought that left-handed people were doomed to die earlier than their non-lefties. Several recent studies have debunked those claims, and scientists now generally accept that being a rightie or a leftie has zero effect on lifespan.

Famous Left-handed people

Left Handed U.S. Presidents

James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1911 – ) 40th
George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st
Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd
Barack Obama (1961- ) 44th

Other Lefties

Benjamin Franklin, statesman/publisher/scientist
Steve Forbes, businessman/publisher
Joan of Arc, French heroine
Ramses II, Egyptian pharaoh
Tiberius, Roman emperor
Alexander the Great
Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor
Julius Caesar, Roman general
Napoléon Bonaparte, French emperor
Prince Charles of England
Jay Leno, host
Prince William of England
Fidel Castro, Cuban leader
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime-minister
Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer
David Rockefeller, banker
Helen Keller, advocate for the blind
Dr. Albert Schweitzer, physician/missionary
Ted Koppel, journalist
John F. Kennedy, Jr., lawyer/publisher
Caroline Kennedy, lawyer/author
Ron Reagan, son of Ronald Reagan
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Lewis Carroll
Glen Campbell
Natale Cole
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Phil Collins (Genesis)
Judy Garland
Crystal Gayle
Paul McCartney (the Beatles; Wings)
Ringo Starr (the Beatles)
Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)
Michelangelo
Raphael
Leonardo da Vinci (RH paralyzed?)
Carol Burnett
George Burns, comedian
Ruth Buzzi, comedienne

So, are you a “Leftie”? Share any thoughts or tidbits for us “righties” to understand about the awesomeness of your handedness? Leave a comment or send an email 🙂

Comments

marie says
January 19, 2010 at 6:49 am
What a sweet bunch of photos ~ they look so intent and focused! : )
Katie is left-handed ~ wonder if Charlotte will follow along.
Thanks for the challenge update – good job to all. I've been praying you would all be successful.
The Watts Family says
January 19, 2010 at 12:17 am
Oh very cute pictures ~my son is also left handed thanks for sharing ~Blessings Heather 🙂
Walking on Sunshine... says
January 18, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Your granddaughter looks so adorable!!!
My hubby is left handed. I also heard somewhere that left handed people are much more intelligent than right handed people because they have to work extra hard in this right handed world. I can agree! I think my hubby is very smart.
Enjoy your day!
tales from an oc cottage says
January 18, 2010 at 5:36 pm
What a cute mosaic!
m ^..^
Golden West says
January 18, 2010 at 1:28 pm
You can never take too many pictures of your kids! Sweet!
Lana G! says
January 18, 2010 at 1:31 am
Such an adorable mosaic! And I didn't know about all those lefties! Wow!
Tara says
January 18, 2010 at 1:31 am
Hmmm! I had no idea there were so many famous lefties–nice mosaic!