Lefty

Today's post isn't about dating, so if that's what you come for, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but tomorrow's will be, so come back soon! 

If you couldn't tell by the name of this blog, I'm left handed.  It's proven to be difficult throughout the years, from using right handed scissors to learning how to shake hands in a high school 'interview class'.  It really became an issue when I had to do a presentation in an English class about being left handed and I discovered that left handed people die on average 9 years sooner than their right handed counterparts! (This has been proven false since I did my high school presentation, more recently scientists are saying it's about a 2 year difference in life span) I couldn't really remember the reason for lefties dying sooner, so I decided to look it up this morning and I'll be the first to admit that it was a big mistake.

The first thing I found out is that some scientists chalk up being left handed to minor brain damage at birth!  I would of course say being left handed is hereditary (at least that's what I'm telling myself). Scientists believe that it's because of the brain damage that lefties are clumsier and have a higher accident rate than their right handed counterparts.  The study goes on to site finger amputations due to power tool use and more wrist fractures among the most common injuries.  I can only speak from experience, 2 of my cousins and I are left handed and ALL of us have had ridiculous accidents and would admit to you in less than a second that we're klutz's, I think only one of us would be compelled to say we had brain damage and that's not me!

Lefties also have weaker immune systems, which explains a lot about my health issues. It's proven that lefties suffer a higher incidence of allergies, epilepsy, and certain learning disabilities, along with suffering from alcoholism, Crohn's disease and colitis. We also show unusually high frequencies of depression, drug abuse, bed-wetting, attempted suicide, lower-than-normal birth weight, sleeping disorders, and autoimmune diseases. Well this is interesting...I was almost a 10 lb baby, have never abused drugs, wet the bed until a normal age and have never attempted suicide.  I've never had a seizure or a learning disability (thank god) unless being a poor speller is a disability. However, I do have insanely bad allergies. To defend the lefties that are depressed (again, not me), it's not their fault, they're basically outcasts...only 10% of the world is left handed and now they're being told they have brain damage, they still have to use right handed scissors AND write with the notebook wires jabbing into their wrists (all while smearing their writing)...I get it.  Oh we're also more prone to being diagnosed with schizophrenia...perfect.

But isn't 'survival of the fittest' supposed to be how the animal kingdom works?  We are after all animals.  I did some more digging and found "what left-handed people may lack in fitness, they make up by being different" (THANK GOD, this sounds like it might be a positive spin on things!).  Left-Handed athletes thrive in sports involving direct one on one contact, like baseball (Babe Ruth), tennis (John McEnroe) and boxing (Oscar de le Hoya).  A France researcher linked the reason left handed people are successful in such sports, also explains a possible higher success rate among lefties in primitive combat (just to dissect this, back in the days when people had to fight head to head, lefties were well practiced against right handed people because there were so many of them, the righties weren't so prepared, therefore the lefties won...so HA!).

Since I'm going to die sooner than the rest of you, I'm going to take this time to gloat for a second or two.  20% of Mensa members are left-handed (scientists think this is because lefties have to use both parts of their brain equally, so they can store more information causing them to be highly intelligent).  Because we're so smart, we make more money (well not me, but the genius lefties).  We can see better than right handed people under water...I have no idea why, but it's proven I swear (I even listed my sources below).  We're better at multi-tasking, have better memories and we're better at playing video games.  God for bid one of us ever had a stroke, we'd recover faster than our right handed counterpart. We're more artistic AND better drivers (I'm not sure how, since we're more accident prone and cars are designed for right handed people, but I'll take it).  We're also more likely to be President (which could be the reason for the whole dying sooner thing). 

That's my random rant of the day...Happy Tuesday!

The Straight Dope
The Left-Handed Advantage
10 Proven Benefits of Being Left Handed