My kindergartener Alex still shows no sign of hand dominance/preference, as his teacher has mentioned to me. So this made me Google nuts and I looked up everything about it. Most children show a hand preference within the 3-5 year range, but some can go to even 6 or 7 years old.
I also found this article about how researchers found the gene possibly linked to left-handedness, LRRTM1. “Scientists have discovered the first gene which appears to increase the odds of being left-handed.” Interesting discovery right? But, it also goes on to say ” The Oxford University-led team believe carrying the gene may also slightly raise the risk of developing psychotic mental illness such as schizophrenia.” What?! So, I Googled ‘famous lefties’…
- Ned Flanders
- Kurt Cobain
- Prince
- Robert Blake
- Tom Cruise
- M.C. Escher
- Lewis Carroll
- Jack the Ripper
- Jimi Hendrix
I mean, there are a lot of super cool, intelligent lefties too (ah-hem), but it makes you think doesn’t it? I also found that left-handedness, occurs more frequently in identical twins (an identical twin has a 76% chance of being lefty), and people with neurological disorders like epilepsy, Down’s Syndrome, and autism.
Update…more crazy people and also left-handed people are better in fights…
- The Boston Strangler
- Billy the Kid
- Osama bin Laden (“If you are left-handed the terrorists have already won” -Manny)
