Left-handed people make up 10-12% of the population, but we live in a right handed world. Most gadgets, office supplies, cooking supplies, and various other objects are catered for the right handed population. Since most people are not part of the lefty-club, here are little-known facts about left handed people that you probably didn’t know!
1. Your favourite celebrities may be left-handed. Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, Jennifer Lawrence, Obama, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie all sport dominant left hands. Many deceased celebrities, like Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain, and Jimi Hendrix were left-handed too. Maybe being left handed is the secret to success!
2. 40% of schizophrenics are left-handed, despite being only 10% of the world’s population. The left hemisphere of the brain is used by both lefties and righties for language functioning. However, about 40% of lefties are partial to their right hemisphere. As a result, lefties run a higher risk of developing schizophrenia, dyslexia, or ADHD.
4. In the 1996, the UK-based Left-Hander’s Club started the annual “Left Handers Day.” Every year on August 13th, lefties around the world can celebrate their minority dominant hand. The purpose is to raise awareness about those who are living with a dominant left hand in a right handed world.
5. Left-handed tend to chew on the left side while right-handed people tend to chew food on the right side.
6. Left-handers die 3 years earlier than right-handed people. More than 2,500 left-handed people are killed every year by using equipment meant for right-handed people.
7. Left Handed People Are Smarter. It’s not all bad news for lefties! St. Lawrence University conducted IQ tests among right and left handed people. The tests results concluded that there were more left handed people with IQs over 140 than those individuals with dominant right hands. To prove it, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, and Isaac Newton were lefties!
8. Babies are more likely to be left-handed, many studies suggest. When placed on their tummies, babies who turn out to be left handed tend to turn their heads to the left. In contrast, babies who turn out to be right handed turn their heads to the right. This may be coincidental, but it is a trend that is recurring.
9. Left-handed soldiers prepare and throw grenades upside down because of how the safety pin is placed.
10. Inherited genes account for just 25% of the chance of being left-handed, a study found.
11. Left-handed people are affected by post-traumatic stress far more than those who are right-handed, a research revealed.
12. Left-handed people earn up to 12% less than right-handed people, a study found.
