11 Little-Known, WEIRD Facts About Left-Handed People
Who knew?!
weheartit Are you left-handed? Do you know a lefty? I'm right-handed and, like most people, have no trouble living in this right-handed society.
As of 2015, only 10 percent of the population is left-handed. And science believes that genetics are responsible 25 percent of the time for the existence of lefties. So left-handedness can be traced all the way back to your ancestors (who, hopefully, were lucky enough to not get burnt at the stake for being witches). Even identical twins sometimes have different dominant hands.
Thankfully, we no longer live in a time where being a leftie guarantees you a spot at the gallows. In this beautiful modern age, lefties are just as normal as the righties (whatever "normal" means to that person, anyway). Sure, you always have to get the leftie scissors or sit at the leftie desk during class, and shaking hands with a rightie causes a moment of confusion, but you can still get by. There's nothing in this world you can't do!
Many lefties struggle, though. The world just wasn't made by them, for them. Yet, there are some interesting facts to know about lefties.
1. Left-handed people are able to see underwater better than their right-handed counterparts.
2. Osama bin Laden, Jack the Ripper and The Boston Strangler were all left-handed.
3. The left-handed are more likely to suffer insomnia.
4. The longest words that can be typed using just the left hand are sweater, dresses, tesserae, and decades.
5. Lefties have worse asthma and allergies than right-handed people.
6. 30 million Americans are left-handed.
7. Lefties tend to be better at architecture.
8. Lefties are more linguistically talented.
9. Women over 40 are considerably more likely to have left-handed children.
10. Left-handed college graduates tend to become wealthier than their right-handed counterparts.
11. Four of seven recent presidents are left-handed.