This book is excellent. It's just a book packed with entertainment, humour, trivia, science, history, pop culture and more. Haha. It's a book full of interesting stuff which saves you from 'frantic searches at the last minute for that perfect magazine article'.
I know I'm supposed to have left, but apparently the car which was coming to get us had a punctured tire. So I figured why not? Type fast. Hehe. Enjoy!
Left-Handed Facts
We considered doing a piece about left-handedness for several years, but the question always came up- are there enough left-handed bathroom readers to make it worthwhile? After six years, we decided it didn't matter- we just wanted to use the info. So here's a section for you southpaws, from Vol. 6.
Are you left-handed? If so, you're not alone- but you're definitely outnumbered; lefties make up only 5% to 15% of the general population. If you're a female southpaw (heyhey!!), you're even more unusual- there are roughly 50% more left-handed males than females. For centuries, scientists have tried to figure out why. (They're not even sure if all lefties are that way for the same reason.) Here are some theories:
WHAT MAKES A LEFTY?
1. Scientists used to think that left- and right-handedness was purely a generic trait, but now they have doubts. Reason: In 20% of all sets of identical twins, one sibling is left-handed and the other is right.
2. Some scientists think the hand you prefer is determined by whether you're a "right-brained" person or a "left-brained" person. The right half of the brain controls the left side of the body, as well as spatial/musical/aesthetic judgment and perception; the left half controls the right side of the body, plus communication skills. Lefties are generally right-brained.
3. Support for this theory: Most children begin demonstrating a preference for one hand over the other at the same time their central nervous system is growing and maturing. This leads some scientists to believe the two processes are linked.
4. According to another theory, before birth all babies are right-handed- which means that the left side of their brain is dominant. But during a stressful or difficult birth, oxygen deficiency can cause damage to the left side of the brain, making it weaker and enabling the right side to compete against it for dominance. If the right side wins out, the baby will become left-handed.
5. This theory also explains, researchers claim, why twins, any child born to a smoker, or children born to a mother over 30 years old are more likely to be left-handed: they are more prone to stressful births. Children of stressful births are also more likely to stammer and suffer dyslexia, traits that are more common in lefties.
LEFT-HANDED HISTORY
No matter what makes southpaws what they are, they've been discriminated against for thousands of years- in nearly every culture on Earth. Some examples:
1. The artwork found in ancient Egyptian tombs portrays most Egyptians as right-handed. But their enemies are portrayed as left-handers, a sign they saw left-handedness as an undesirable trait.
2. Ancient Greeks never crossed their left leg over their right, and believe a person's sex was determined by their position in the womb- the female, or 'lesser sex,' sat on the left side of the womb.
3. The Romans placed special significance on the right-handedness as well. Custom dictated that they enter friends' homes 'with the right foot forward'... and turn their heads to the right to sneeze. Their language showed the same bias: the Latin word for left was sinister (which also meant evil, or ominous), and the word for right was dexter (which came to mean skillful, or adroit). Even the word ambidextrous literally means 'right-handed with both hands.'
LEFT-HANDED MISCELLANY
1. Lefties are more likely to be on the extreme ends of the intelligence scale than the general population: a higher proportion of mentally retarted people and peopled with IQs over 140 are lefties.
2. Why are lefties called 'southpaws'? In the late 1890s, most baseball parks were laid out with the pitcher facing west and the batter facing east (so the sun wouldn't be in his eyes). That meant left-handed pitchers threw with the arm that faced south. So Chicago sportswriter Charles Seymour began calling them 'southpaws'.
3. What did traditional Christians believe was going to happen on Judgment Day? According to custom, God blesses the saved with His right hand- and casts sinners out of Heaven with His left.
4. Why do we throw salt over out left shoulders for good luck? To throw it into the eyes of the Devil, who, of course, lurks behind us to out left.
=D Random fact found at the bottom of the page: Five Jell-O flavours that flopped: celery, coffee, cola, apple and chocolate.
Things I'm going to miss when I leave:
My friends, my HOME myhomemyhomemyhome!!!, the weather, unlimited internet, American Idol on Wednesday and Thursday nights, the ceiling fans, the fully-functional air-cons.. etc.
EYEHOPEEVERYTHINGWILLBEFINEWHENSCHOOLREOPENS! =( Will see everyone soon. =D
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