I'm not sure it's still the case but in my school days left handers were pretty rare. I was a left hander and at one point a school teacher even tried to make me convert to been right handed by making me practice writing with my right hand for lesson after lesson. It did no good as I remained left handed. I used to be of the view that it was a right handed world. Nothing worse at school than writing something up in your best hand writing only to smudge over it and make it look a complete unreadable mess.

I've created a poll to see if there is a balance or not.

I'm Right Handed

I have been told that being left handed is a freak of nature.
Not sure what that means but it obviously has something to do with the brain.
Most people are right handed but my wife is also left handed.
She can only write with her left hand, something which i find impossible.

Right Handed.

But my brother is left handed. It's the opposite side of your brian controlling your body.

Right handed...

Originally posted by DaBouncer
Right Handed.

But my brother is left handed. It's the opposite side of your brian controlling your body.
Not technically true, both sides of the brain control the body, just that 1 side is more dominant. I think if your left side is dominant (which it is in most people) then you're right handed for some daft reason. The Lord works in mysterious ways I guess.

Originally posted by Sidla
Not technically true, both sides of the brain control the body, just that 1 side is more dominant. I think if your left side is dominant (which it is in most people) then you're right handed for some daft reason. The Lord works in mysterious ways I guess.
That's what I meant.

The left hand portion of your brain controls the right hand side of your body. Fact!
So people that are left handed have a more dominant right hand side of the brain. Which is the 'opposite' to the majority of the population.

I just didn't explain it clear enough! You student bum, begger man!

How does this work with feet then?

Well the same.
You have a left and right foot which like the hands works from opposite sides of the brain.

But are left footed footballers also left handed?

You see this is my point.

I am write with my left hand
use scissors with my right hand
Throw with my left arm
Play snooker/pool left handed
Play cricket/golf right handed
Kick using my right foot
Fight orthodox

Sounds like your ambidextrous :roll:

Originally posted by upholder
Sounds like your ambidextrous :roll:
Or just a freak of nature that should have been destroyed at birth.

Kill the heathen... kill it!

Just kidding Lickszz :D

My auntie who was born in 1910 often told me that she was punished at school for being left handed.

She was regularly told that she was stupid and forced to try to write with her right hand. If she was caught writing with her left hand she was physically punished. Just imagine that :shocked:

Obviously, nowadays things aren't that bad but we still live in a right handed world. One of my children is left handed and she still encounters problems using equipment and scissors in school.

I tell you what, its not much fun being left handed. Everything seems to be either somehow upside down or back to frnt. All power tools are for right handed people, all the safety guards are designed for right not left. Scissors are upside down & I honestly believe thought process for left handed people is quite different to right handed people. I have noticed this quite a bit in the way a project is tackled eg: where to start building something or which side to tackle it from ( if you can follow my left handed thought process). Padlocks etc can often be difficult to put on & take off. Knives seem to be used by drawing the knife towards a left handed person not away like a right handed person. I know people cannot stand to see me with scissors or knives (apart from the fact that I am blonde female & menopausal).
I also suffered at school by teachers attempting to make me use my right hand. Believe me people do not realise what it is like to be left handed. This is one of my favorite subjects & I could bore you all night but I won't. But I can tell you, I carry a firearm in my jjob & even that bloody thing is not designed for a left handed blonde female menopausal female (Get my drift).

I guess I'm ambidextrous -though I usually consider myself to be left handed-

I write left-handed,
use scissors left-handed,
eat right-handed (ie fork on left),
use computer mouse right-handed(I got fed up with swapping it over)
play bass guitar right-handed (felt natural that way)-not very well though,

however, I cannot swap over, ie write right-handed, so I don't know whether that makes me truly ambidextrous or not.

Originally posted by DaBouncer
Or just a freak of nature that should have been destroyed at birth.

Kill the heathen... kill it!

Just kidding Lickszz :D

I congratulate you on your clarity of thought and mind. :P :D

I'm totally right handed... I only do stuff with my left hand if it requires two hands to do it... (u-huh-huh-huh-h... *cough* Sorry) ;)

Originally posted by Janet Olsen
All power tools are for right handed people, all the safety guards are designed for right not left.

That is most definitely not the case - I have a vast collection of professional power tools and all of can be used by right and left handers a like. Any guards are repositionable.

Just a thought on the writing side of things at least..

Most roman languages are left to right in terms of written direction which makes it darned awkward for left handers but in Islamic languages and Hebrew are right to left which would be a nightmare for us...

So, you'd be find using those.. Who knows why it always got picked up on in school but at a guess it was probably just something to do with majority rule and the fact that trying to write left handed made a right mess with the old ink pens..

Random thought for the day... :loopy:

Wasn't Einstein left handed?

I have always been under the impression that left handers were rather creative. The only lad in our class at school who was left handed is now an artist. He did fantastic drawings!!

They also tried to get him to write with his right hand but eventually they just left (ha) it.

Moon

Only an observation, but I get the impression that a higher proportion of left handed people are women - is there any evidence to support this observation, or give any reason why?

I'm right handed, by the way.

Originally posted by MrHelicopter
Only an observation, but I get the impression that a higher proportion of left handed people are women - is there any evidence to support this observation, or give any reason why?

I'm right handed, by the way.
IIRC.. there's no correlation between male/female and left handedness...

Colour blindness is a whole different story but for this topic... there's no bias one way or the other...

Two theories predominate in the debates that rage on as to why a mere 4% of the population is left-handed. Most authorities agree, to the relief of many a mother of a left-handed child, that if the child prefers using the left hand, and functions well with it, there is no need to correct this "condition."

One theory centers on the two halves of the brain, i.e. the left half and the right half, each of which functions differently. Medical science believes that the left half of the brain predominates over the right half. The stem of this theory is the fact that nerves from the brain cross over at neck-level to the opposite side of the body, and nerves from the other side of the brain reciprocate. The end result is that the opposite sides of the body are supplied by the opposite sides of the brain.

The predominant left half of the brain, which graciously supplies the right half of the body, theoretically renders it more skillful in reading, writing, speaking, and working, and makes most people right-handed. "Lefties," however, are the product of an inversion, whereas the right half of the brain predominates, and they work best with the left side of their bodies.

Theory number two trickles down to the asymmetrical nature of the body. Examples of the asymmetry, which flows from head to toe, are that the right side of our faces differs slightly from the left, that our legs differ in strength, or that our feet vary in size. One aspect of this asymmetry is that for most people the right hand is stronger than the left.

There is no doubt that all exist in a "right-handed society," which manufactures most basics, including scissors, doorknobs, locks, screwdrivers, automobiles, buttons on clothing, and musical instruments for the 96%. Left-handed people compensate for this snobbery of sorts, by being members of an elite society, which includes many of the greatest geniuses, including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and The Useless-Infomaster.

4%? I think you mean 20%

--
JGH

I'm a leftie for writing but have got used to using my right hand for almost everything else.I still seem to have more skills associated with the left hand side of my brain than the right though.I was never very good at maths!

is it an inherited condition? my husband and the rest of his family are left handed and i was wondering if our kid will inherit this sinister condition:)

have you noticed how many actors are left handed?

A friend of mine is reading a book about this (will have to find out what it's called) and it says something about Left-handism is actually caused my a genetic mutation that occurs after conception. The theory of it being inherited could hold true because the faulty genes are passed down. Genetic mutants!!

The book also goes on to say that there are not many old left handed people around today to research. Mainly because it is believed people who are left handed have a lower life expectancy. The reasons for the lower life expectancy can be explained by accidents that happen because a left handed person is trying to compensate all the time and makes mistakes and could also be due to the mutation.

One of the examples I was told of, (maybe the author of this book is American), people in america drive on the right. When driving, say on a motorway, when you are about to hit something, your natural reaction if left handed would be to put your hands up to protect/brace yourself or just to swerve, turning the wheel so your car goes into oncoming traffic. This all holds true, but that would mean left handed people would be ok in the UK and right handed people would be in danger.

It all sounds interesting and I'm keen to look at this persons work.

I started life left handed but courtesy of the school system in the mid 1960s was soon a right hander. Lousy hand writing, a stammer and a bag of nerves, but I was right handed, blessed be!!

I'm not sure I've ever really forgiven the teachers.....

I lost my stammer by teh time I was about 10 or 11, but the handwriting stayed terrible to this day. I also have a tendency towards bd reversal, writing 7 the wrong way round, etc.

Are there any real 'Leftoriums' in the world, a la Neddy Flanders in The Simpsons?

Joe

I am right handed at everything except using a shovel:loopy: - I must have got it from my mother, she is right handed at everything, but when it comes to pouring hot milk from the pan to the coffee cup she is left handed.:loopy: :loopy:

I have grown up to be mostly right-handed, but for the first year or so at junior school I apparently wrote with my right hand one day, then with my left hand the next! The school wanted to encourage me to use my right hand, but my Dad wouldn't let them, as he was a natural left-hander forced into using his right hand, and he felt that had been the wrong thing to do to him.

I soon opted to be right-handed, but my handwriting was terrible for years!

And I still prefer to use my left hand for certain things, like dealing cards and pouring from the kettle!

StarSparkle :)

Yeah, my mum, dad, grandparents are all left-handed.

The school I went to was really old fashioned and wouldn't let me write with my left hand so I learnt to write right handed. I can still write neatly with my left though.

I do everything else left handed though...e.g. play pool/snooker, box/kick-box. I first picked up a guitar left handed but soon got told to hold it the other way because my dad wouldn't restring it for me. I eat left handed. Some things I do right handed because the equipment will only allow me to.

my granddaughter is a south-paw. (she's only four-and-a-half), and at least one of my sisters' sons is left-handed.

I heard a rumour, (I don't know how much of an Urban Legend it is) That sometimes, babies start off as identical twins, but one of them dies at a very, very early stage odf the pregnancy, before it's even known that there could be twin babies).

The identical twins are/ were irror images of each other, and that, if the left-hand twin is the surviving twin then the baby grows up to be left handed, if the surviving twin is the right-hand one, it's right handed.

I don't know how much weight to give to this theory, a very strong part of me thinks "bunkum!" the other part of me thinks "I wonder how much is in this". most of my money would go on "this is preposterous!", i think.

When I married my ex husband, we were the only right-handed people involved in the actual legal part of the ceremony (signing the registers, etc):-

The minister who conducted the marriage ceremony was left-handed,

My ex-husband's brother, who was his Best-Man, was left-handed,

My adopted sister, who was my maid of honour (like a bridesmaid, but without the uncomfortable dress!) was left-handed,

and my ex- mother in law was left-handed, too!

how unusual/ weird is that?

P (well, actually, I am ambidextrous, but favour my right hand) T

Threads merged.

I'm naturally ambidextrous but was encouraged to write using my right hand, so now can't really write with my left hand. Things like opening jars or bottles though I tend to do with my left hand, but on the whole I'm right handed.

Well, rather fascinatingly (or not as the case maybe :D ) I was left handed when I was very very young - but was diabolical with both (and parents decided to swap me over to being right handed) and concentrate on improving the writing with that hand.
Now, I eat left handed (left hand - knife, right hand fork, left hand spoon), open jars with my left handed, play golf right handed, tennis left and kick a football with the right.

Alex

I'm right-handed for writing, but am left-handed for playing pool, eating and drinking, and a few other things.

When one of my 3 sons was said to be dyslexic, I was asked if I had a left handed member of the family. I had, my youngest son.

Just thought I'd throw that in.

this i san interesting one!

i write with my right hand. play rounders and tennis right handed. and play footy with my right foot.

BUT

i play cricket, golf, lacrosse left handed along with most other sports


ive always wundered why??

Although I do generally write with my right hand, and use cutlery right handed, I can generally work either way around.

In school I endured learning support for three years to improve my handwriting, and only got through because I used my left hand for the last term. I still write right handed though because I always have, and it's generally faster (although totally unreadable to most).

I always say I'm unbedextrous 'cos I can't write with either hand ;)

We do seem to be getting a lot of replies saying that they have switched to right handed, either by force or choice. I wonder how much the natural bias to right-handedness is caused by old fashioned school teachers?

From reading this thread it seems a lot of people were actually left handed, or at least able to use either, before being pushed into being right handed. The 1 in 10 (think it's that???) left handed figure may be more reflective of society pushing people to become right handed rather than 9 in 10 actually being naturally right handed.

I write right handed,eat left handed and can play pool with either hand,tho i am better with my right. But i can not eat right handed or write left handed at all.

I'm very much left handed at everything. When I was being taught metalwork my instructor was amazed at me when I used the drill as it looked to him like I was turning the drill the wrong way.

I'm pretty creative and my methods of tackling problems differ but always acheive a satisfactory result.

Originally left-handed but because I went to an old fashioned RC school I was coerced into writing with my right hand through cunning use of those funny rubber prismy type things they put on pencils to help you hold em correctly... am ambidexterous now, mainly write with my right hand, and other jobs that require hands (steady) Im interchangeable :wink: but when my right arm got wonderfully injured and couldnt do very much with it at all was thankful for my left hand and did everything left-handed for 2 months.
I also have prehensile toes (another sign of a true freak) and can write with both feet... should I ever need to ...can also pick things up with feet which saves my back I can tell ya :D

Originally posted by Lickszz
You see this is my point.

I am write with my left hand
use scissors with my right hand
Throw with my left arm
Play snooker/pool left handed
Play cricket/golf right handed
Kick using my right foot
Fight orthodox

I'm left handed but can wirte and draw with both

I am the same as you Likszz, But I don't do martial arts. I kick with my right when playing football but I can shoot with both hands when playing basketball.

I was made to write with my right hand when I started school, I seem to remember naturally using my left. I still write with my right hand but can also write with my left albeit very shakily and slowily for a while. I eat right handed (fork in left knife in right) but open jars with my left hand and also sew left handed (right to left rather than left to right). I use scissors with my right hand, however this is the only thing I can't do with either hand but I think that is the design of the scissors that prevent it so I suppose I must be ambidextrous with right handed tendancies:D

They tried to convert me into a righty at school. In my school we got issued with Biros and the ones that we were issued used to make me smudge my writing.

My hand writing was very poor with my left hand but with my right it was alot worse. I couldn't adapt probably because I didn't want to.

Hello - are you left-handed? Any stories? What is it called in South Yorkshire - cack or cac-handed? Ever heard of being 'dolly posh'? Are you disadvantaged in today's society?

I'm actually right handed but I've written with my left hand since primary school. I can't go back now, but I have really bad handwritting.

Im a leftie and its always been cac-handed as far as i am concerned!!!

My writing is also extremly poor due to the teachers at my primary school forcing me to learn with an ink pen instead of a biro, therefore making me stop every few letters to blot my work so i never really developed joined up writing :(

if you buy a proper fountain pen the nib will mould to the shape and style of your hand - so worries writing

I am right handed, but gravitate toward people who are left handed and I find it very interesting. Apparently only 9% of the British population is left handed. Although, I know quite a few people from the Isle of Sheppey and every one of them is Left handed. Also the Excelent Carribbean cricket team of the 80s was always heavily weighted toward left handers, It's funny how different peoples have slightly different ratios.

Famous Left handed musiscians include :-
Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Paul McCartney

Originally posted by muddycoffee
Kurt Cobain

Thats good enough for me!! If he can do it kegi then i can!!!

Originally posted by Scottandandy
Thats good enough for me!! If he can do it kegi then i can!!!
he also had fab choice in women:gag: :D

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
if you buy a proper fountain pen the nib will mould to the shape and style of your hand - so worries writing

Yes, but the trouble with fountain pens is that the ink doesn't dry quickly enough and your hand smudges it as you write from left to right.

Here's a good list of famous left-handers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_left-handed_people

Originally posted by tslogf74
Yes, but the trouble with fountain pens is that the ink doesn't dry quickly enough and your hand smudges it as you write from left to right.
tilt ya paper!:D
ok ok just use a bloody pencil

Originally posted by tslogf74
Yes, but the trouble with fountain pens is that the ink doesn't dry quickly enough and your hand smudges it as you write from left to right.

My point exacly!! :D :D

Nat- tilt the paper?? So you write diagonally?????? ;)

i can see that pencil been shoved up ur ****

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
i can see that pencil been shoved up ur ****

blunt end first i hope :help: :help: :help: :help: :help:

Robert Plant is a leftie ;)

Here's some info for all you lefties out there :P:
Can be found on this (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1684/lefthand.html) page
Medical literature reports that lefties more accident prone, are more likely to have their fingers amputated by power-tools, suffer more wrist fractures. Lefties are more susceptible to allergies, auto-immune diseases, bed-wetting, depression, drug abuse, epilepsy, hypnotism, low birth weight, schizophrenia, sleeping disorders, suicide attempts, and certain learning disabilities. Lefties are six times likelier to die in an accident, and four times to likelier to die while driving.

Originally posted by IanMitchell
Robert Plant is a leftie ;)

Oh aye ? whats he famous for then ?

My sis is not a natural leftie but she is cack handed when it comes to using cutlery :?

Originally posted by Deejay
Oh aye ? whats he famous for then ?


You better be joking Deejay :P

I didn't realise that 'cack-handed' meant left handed - I always thought it meant clumsy.

I started life left handed but my school swapped me over.

I'm now right handed.

Joe

Originally posted by Scottandandy
Im a leftie and its always been cac-handed as far as i am concerned!!!

My writing is also extremly poor due to the teachers at my primary school forcing me to learn with an ink pen instead of a biro, therefore making me stop every few letters to blot my work so i never really developed joined up writing :( most of the teachers grew up in an age where there were no biros,my mum was cac handed and she told me that the teachers used to tie her left hand behind her back when she was in school to force her to use her right hand,come to think of it when i was at school teachers used to cane you for bieng a lefty,then again we got caned for talking in class,chewing gum,not bringing sports gear,having long hair or if you were a girl,wearing nail varnish or perfume,or having a bee hive hair do,one teacher tied a pupil to his chair with an arm band because he was epilectic
perhaps we were bullied by the system but at least we learnt respect for authority,

My granddaughter is left-handed. My middle nephew is, too.

(I am ambidextrous)

In our house, when I was growing up, it was always referred to as being "dolly-handed" or "dolly posh".

My boss is left-handed, he calls it "Southpaw"

The only way that I heard "cack"-handed being used was to describe someone who was gauche or clumsy.

When I married my ex-husband, it was really weird, we were the only right-handers who were involved in the actual llegal-bit of the ceremony...

The minister who conducted our marriace ceremony was dolly posh... My ex-Hub's brother (who was his best-man) is dolly posh, as was my maid-of-honour, and so was my hub's mum, too. Just how strange (and unusual) is that? I wonder what the odds on that happening would be?

PT

Originally posted by Plain Talker

(I am ambidextrous)

Hi PT,
sorry to tell you but medical science has failed to ever find anybody who is truly ambidextrous.

Obviously everyone has a certain percentage of things they do left or right handed, that's just human nature. But an ambidexterous person is one who can do every task equally well with both hands.

The standard test is to take the person in question and give them a minute to put as many dots in the middle of graph paper squares with a pencil with either hand in a given time.

There has never been anyone who has succedded in getting close to the percentage which is considered to be ambidexterous.

It's sad to read of people persecuted because they favoured rt or lft hands, was particularly surprised to find that girls were also subjected to similar treatment that I was subjected to. Hopefully this is another instance that will be relegated to historical records.

Threads merged.

Cack-handed has become used for clumsy, but a good few years ago it was used for left-handed.
I remember at school my teacher swapping my knife and fork to the other hands at lunchtime. Perhaps a mild left-hander in me!

I tell you what, its not much fun being left handed. Everything seems to be either somehow upside down or back to frnt. All power tools are for right handed people, all the safety guards are designed for right not left. Scissors are upside down & I honestly believe thought process for left handed people is quite different to right handed people. I have noticed this quite a bit in the way a project is tackled eg: where to start building something or which side to tackle it from ( if you can follow my left handed thought process). Padlocks etc can often be difficult to put on & take off. Knives seem to be used by drawing the knife towards a left handed person not away like a right handed person. I know people cannot stand to see me with scissors or knives (apart from the fact that I am blonde female & menopausal).
I also suffered at school by teachers attempting to make me use my right hand. Believe me people do not realise what it is like to be left handed. This is one of my favorite subjects & I could bore you all night but I won't. But I can tell you, I carry a firearm in my jjob & even that bloody thing is not designed for a left handed blonde female menopausal female (Get my drift).
yes the little things in life get to you like padlocks
even my wallet
i fold it shut the wrong way !!!
guns. power tools. are all for right handed people
my watch is upside down on my right wrist so hard to change the time

Cack-handed has become used for clumsy, but a good few years ago it was used for left-handed.
I remember at school my teacher swapping my knife and fork to the other hands at lunchtime. Perhaps a mild left-hander in me! yes they did that with me god if they did it now i would stick there hand to the table with the fork have been to this shop in london lots of things 4 left handers
here is the link
http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/about.html

I am left handed but I eat right handed. By this, I mean my knife is in my right, but if I'm only using a fork, then I use it in my left - and use my left for eating with a spoon.

My parents bought me loads of left handed stuff for one birthday when I was a kid (I must have been feeling vulnerable). It contained a left handed fountain pen, a left handed ball pen (yes, all ball pens are right handed, try holding it in your left and read the writing on the pen), left handed scissors, a left handed ruler (again, all rulers are right handed - making measuring things for left handers more complicated than necessary) and a book all about left handers.

Apparently left handers are more creative than right because the right hand portion of the brain controls the left hand but it is also the side that sees things as images whilst the left hand portion of the brain sees things in words and figures (my excuse for being pants at maths).

Also, the right hand portion of the brain is thought to be more humorous, hence the number of left handed comedians. And due to the creativity of the right hand portion of the brain, many left handers are good at performance arts.

And yes, I know all too well the nasty smudges from writing left handed, I had a constant black mark down the outside of my left hand when I was at school!

I'm a natural left hander,in fact i am left sided.Understand the problems other lefties had at school as the hand having written moves on,and smudges what you've just written.

Both me & my wife are left hander's

My other half is naturally left handed but was made to use his right hand at school - he had to SIT on his left hand to stop him using it ... how cruel was that ? He still uses his left hand to write but is able to write with his right too - but has a totally different signature ! Now, I am naturally right handed but stir my tea anti- clockwise which is the left handed way - why is that ?

I am right handed. I write with my right hand but everything else, I do equally well with both hands. Pretty much, I use the hand that is nearest to whatever I want to do.

I have a student in my class who is left handed. I expected her to do a lot of smudging of her tracing (we use old fashioned dipping pens) but she seems to hold her hand below the business end of her pen.

My eldest son is left handed (and dyslexic) my daughter is totally right handed and my youngest son is right handed for writing but does everything else left handed. The youngest once had me in stiches when we were playing cards because when he 'fans' his cards ready to play, he cant see any numbers but didn't realise this was different to anyone else! :hihi: I have since bought some left handed playing cards :thumbsup:

I use my left hand to change gears whilst driving and exit the front passenger door. ;)

No, I'm left-handed full stop. Apart from this month having to use the mouse with the right hand because of RSI-style symptoms . After 15 years, like using the left-hand with the mouse will just switch back again... reckon that'll keep RSI at bay.

According to several forumers on this thread, anything between 5% and 20% of the British population are left-handers.

Interesting then, that almost a third of the SF's who have voted on here claim to be left-handers. Including me.

Maybe a disproportianate number of Sheffielders are 'cack-handed'?

My other half is naturally left handed but was made to use his right hand at school - he had to SIT on his left hand to stop him using it ... how cruel was that ? He still uses his left hand to write but is able to write with his right too - but has a totally different signature ! Now, I am naturally right handed but stir my tea anti- clockwise which is the left handed way - why is that ?

Maybe he was doing something else with his left hand......;)

Maybe he was doing something else with his left hand......;)

Ooo - I say ! How very rude !

According to several forumers on this thread, anything between 5% and 20% of the British population are left-handers.

Interesting then, that almost a third of the SF's who have voted on here claim to be left-handers. Including me.

Maybe a disproportianate number of Sheffielders are 'cack-handed'?

I think it's more a disproportionate amount do well and thus can afford the internet connection. There's probably never been surveys on dive council estates but the right-handed folk would no doubt reign supreme by a much larger margin than should be expected there.