7 Crazy Things You Never Knew About Right-Handed People
Righties need love, too.
insta_photos / Shutterstock Those left-handed wonders are the ones who always get attention. If you do a quick search, hundreds of posts pop up about lefties. It's like going to your boyfriend's Mom's house and you see tons of pictures of him... with his ex.
There's a Wikipedia page devoted to being left-handed. There's even a day that celebrates the left-handed people in our society (August 13).
Where's the right-handed love? Right-handed people matter, too! Sure, we may not be as exotic, but we're here.
7 Facts About Right-Handed People
Step out of our southpaw's shadow and let the right-handed people have the spotlight for a change. Time to bust some left-handed versus right-handed truths.
1. Righties just as smart as lefties.
Left-handed people are lauded to be extremely creative geniuses. Apparently, those two traits go hand in hand (puns!). Often times, Albert Einstein is lauded as an example of that principle. In actuality, Albert Einstein wasn't a lefty. That's just a myth.
Research shows he may have been ambidextrous, which would've been amazing considering only one percent of the population is truly ambidextrous. Next time your sister posts about being creative and awesome on Facebook because she's left-handed, give her post the laughing emoticon.
2. Right-handed people live longer lives.
Apparently, right-handed people are like gobstoppers: they just go on forever.
This myth is that right-handed people live on average eight years longer than our left-handed counterparts. Though this sounds nice to anyone who's right-handed, it's not a true thing.
Nowadays there are more people who are left-handed in comparison to those who were in the sample taken, so the numbers don't represent those who are currently living.
3. They are bad drivers compared to lefties.
Every time you pass someone who has hit a pole, they're probably left-handed. Give them the side-eye as you drive past. No, don't do that. This is another example that even a positive myth can still be false.
An American study was conducted that gives the argument that left-handed people are safer drivers. The idea is they have to constantly be on their toes because we drive on the right side of the road, and they have to use their less dominant hand to shift gears. They're paying more attention than right-handed people.
4. Righties are more extroverted.
You've probably seen this before, usually with a lot of examples of famous artists and musicians on the list. Left-handed people are said to be really creative and introverted. Right-handed people are more extroverted and less creative than left-handed people.
Apparently, this myth is fake. According to this study, the real idea is that people who use both left and right hands are more introverted, which is definitely a new twist.
5. They are terrible at using their left hand.
Right-handed people cannot self-pleasure with their left hands. Umm... haven't you ever heard of The Stranger? No? That's just me? Alright then.
6. Right-handed people are more 'right-brained.'
That means righties are more logical, analytic, and some even say cold emotionally. According to a two-year study done by the University of Utah, the whole idea is off. People aren't hardwired to be more left- or right-brained.
Yes, the hemispheres do have tasks that are more centralized; however, it's more about the connections that our individual bodies make with those sides. It's just another one of those pop culture myths.
Good, now I can stop wondering if someone taught me to stop being left-handed when I was a baby.
7. They are more likely to engage in risky behavior.
This one kind of made me think twice. As I think back on my bleary college memories, I feel like the binge-drinking went across the board, regardless of age, race, and dominant hand.
One report from a self-reported survey of over 20,000 people from 12 countries found that a large number of left-handed people drank more often, but they weren't necessarily exhibiting risky behavior (like binge-drinking).
One problem with the survey was that all the right-handed participants were over 50 and the majority of the left-handed people were younger. Another problem was there could have been other extenuating circumstances that made these people drink more often, rather than which hand they used to hold the beer. (Just FYI, I'm very ambidextrous when it comes to wine drinking.)
Hopefully, this list reminds you that you, my right-handed friend, are just as special as the lefties of the world.
Tamara Woods is a freelance writer, author, and poet. She shares poetry, short stories and writer interviews on her blog, PenPaperPad. She's also the editor for The Reverie Journal.