Left- vs. Right-Handed: Interesting Facts and Differences

Handedness of people has always been a great topic for scientific, medical and historical discussion. Scientists are trying to see how these 10% of the people on Earth are different from the prevailing majority of right-handers worldwide.

Medical research is focused on the influence of the handedness on person’s health and there are several medical advantages to being a leftie, as well as major medical concerns.

And finally, the historians have analyzed the bias against left-handed people over the past centuries to explore the most unfavorable cultural associations with left-hand dominance.

Here we present a list of the most interesting facts about lefthanders:

Left-Handedness: Interesting Differences between Right & Left-Handed People

Additionally we add brief breakdown of the facts in the text form:

#1. Lefty products

Left-handed people need products, which are adapted to their needs: starting from pens and ending with power tools. It may seem silly but not all lefties can adapt, so annually over 2k people with such hand dominance get injured by products not intended for them.

#2. Hand preference in sports

The unusual left-handed blow seems to be one of the best trick up athlete’s sleeve, when we talk about tennis, boxing, golf or fencing.

#3. Wedding ring

Almost on every continent the wedding ring is worn on the left hand. Even though historically this hand was associated with evil, the ancient Egyptians though that this hand brought the ring closer to the heart and the Greeks and Romans tried to scare away evil spirits attracted by the left hand with the help of a ring.

#4. Intellectuals among most popular lefties

Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Newton belong to the list of the celebrated intellectuals and scientists with the left-hand dominance. Additionally researchers say that there are less right-handed people on the list of people with IQ over 140. Some of well-known scientists, like, for example, #Leonardo da Vinci, could masterfully use both hands and practice such technique, as mirror writing.

#5. Professional preferences

Thanks to better divergent thinking, people with left-hand dominance are drawn to creative careers (arts, music, sports). But it should be noted that according to modern research, their right-handed rivals, who drawn to science and usually become #young inventors, earn more money in their jobs.

Sources of facts:

1)    www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/left-handed-facts-lefties_n_2005864.html
2)    www.facts.randomhistory.com/facts-about-left-handedness.html
3)    www.babble.com/body-mind/12-amazing-facts-about-lefties/
4)    www.thoughtcatalog.com/jim-goad/2014/08/15-facts-about-left-handers-like-me/
5)    www.leftyfretz.com/25-facts-about-left-handed-people/
6)    www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/little-known-facts-about-lefthanders.aspx#07

Image credits:

1)     www.jimgrafas.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/raised-hands.jpg