International Left-Handers Day - August 13th

[buzzenator]

Yes, just like Groundhog Day, it still only occurs once a year...

August 13 is International Left-Handers Day

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/aug...07269.html

Today is International Left-Handers Day, in which the world's lefties are encouraged to celebrate their minority status.

An estimated 10 percent of the world's population is left-handed. And even with two of the last three U.S. presidents falling into that distinct minority, left-handed people have historically been subjected to discrimination and urban legends.

Many of the untruths about left-handed people have been debunked, but the fact remains that they are still statistically more likely to suffer from a number of health problems, including alcoholism, Crohn's disease and schizophrenia.

...The southpaw status has also extended to the world of sports, arguably serving to benefit a number of boxers and also tennis legend John McEnroe. Several famous musicians are also left-handed, including Jimi Hendrix and the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The list of famous left-handed artists is extensive, providing credence to the theory that left-handed individuals are inherently more creative.

I cannot claim minority status on this, but both my sons are lefties (so I must be a carrier). I extend the right hand of friendship to all our creative Halien lefties! (Just to be politically incorrect today)

[Tusk]

Handedness of Presidents of the United States

As of 2012, five out of the last seven presidents have been left-handed. Counting as far back as Truman, the number is five (or six) out of twelve. In the 1992 election, all three major candidates – George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot – were left-handed

Amar Klar, a scientist who has worked on handedness, says that left-handed people "have a wider scope of thinking", and points to the disproportionately high number of Nobel Prize winners, writers and painters who are left-handed. The left hemisphere of the brain generally handles language, but in left-handed people, this division is less pronounced. One out of seven left-handers processes language using both sides of the brain, compared with just one out of twenty in the general (predominantly right-handed) population, perhaps because of a relationship between dexterity and language. An increased amount of space dedicated to language could account for enhanced communication skills.

The American trend, however, is not replicated in other countries; only two British post-war prime ministers have been left-handed (David Cameron and James Callaghan). Winston Churchill has often been credited with being a left-hander, although he was not. No Canadian prime minister since at least 1980 has shown this trait.

[My Alter Ego]

Yes, just like Groundhog Day, it still only occurs once a year...

August 13 is International Left-Handers Day

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/aug...07269.html

Today is International Left-Handers Day, in which the world's lefties are encouraged to celebrate their minority status.

An estimated 10 percent of the world's population is left-handed. And even with two of the last three U.S. presidents falling into that distinct minority, left-handed people have historically been subjected to discrimination and urban legends.

Many of the untruths about left-handed people have been debunked, but the fact remains that they are still statistically more likely to suffer from a number of health problems, including alcoholism, Crohn's disease and schizophrenia.

...The southpaw status has also extended to the world of sports, arguably serving to benefit a number of boxers and also tennis legend John McEnroe. Several famous musicians are also left-handed, including Jimi Hendrix and the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The list of famous left-handed artists is extensive, providing credence to the theory that left-handed individuals are inherently more creative.

I cannot claim minority status on this, but both my sons are lefties (so I must be a carrier). I extend the right hand of friendship to all our creative Halien lefties! (Just to be politically incorrect today)

Extraordinarily (and they're the first to proclaim this), the office I work in has a high claim on that 10% (I don't think that it's quite at the 1/2 level, but it's probably higher than 1/3.)

[LovinDaHaley]

^ What do the majority of the people in your office do MAE? Is there a connection with the things being proclaimed about lefties?

[My Alter Ego]

^ What do the majority of the people in your office do MAE? Is there a connection with the things being proclaimed about lefties?

While it's probably true that the "lefties" in my office are a creative bunch, it has nothing to do with the work that goes on. Generally, our work is compliance; more specifically, compliance as it relates to research administration.