Lefties Unite!

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

So you have epilepsy. And you’re left-handed. Is it a curse…a blessing…or a challenge?

Well, you’re not exactly alone. Between six and sixteen percent of people today are left-handed. And guess what? Left-handedness is also associated with a higher incidence of epilepsy. Gee, what a surprise!

But, here’s the good news…

There have been lots of famous left-handed people. And the associated right brain hemisphere that is said to be more active in left-handed people has been found to often be associated with genius, artistic and visual skill.

Here are just a few inspiring examples of lefties: Kermit the Frog… Bart Simpson…Jerry Seinfeld…Charlie Chaplin…Greta Garbo (my personal favorite)…Cary Grant…Angelina Jolie…Tom Cruise…Marilyn Monroe…Joan of Arc… Helen Keller…Alexander the Great…Napoléon Bonaparte…The Boston Strangler…Lewis Carroll…Michelangelo…Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, (“We love you, yeah, yeah, yeah”)…and US President Barack Obama. Quite an illustrious group!

Left-Handed Myths: left-handed people have a shorter lifespan because of mental confusion that leads to accidents and injuries (???)…we have demonic traits…we’re immoral and unholy…we’re clumsy (Well you don’t have to be a lefty to be clumsy!)…and we have less of a chance of surviving hand-to-hand combat!

Left-Handed Facts: left-handed people are high achievers…plus lefties are good at problem solving and multitasking, because we’re good at breaking down information and finding solutions.

Unfriendly Tools for Lefties: it’s a right-handed world and many tools are designed without lefties in mind…(We’ve already have had plenty of experience with these!) For example: potato peelers, corkscrews, rulers, scissors, number keys on keyboards, cameras, guitars, the computer mouse, watches, checkbooks, measuring cups and pencil sharpeners.

Lefty-Friendly Devices: Left-handed golf clubs. So, if you play golf, you’ve got it made in the shade! Just look at the famous left-handed-playing golfer, Phil Mickelson!

But just like having epilepsy, we adapt. And society is coming around to seeing things our way. The increasing number of lefties springing up in the 21st century has society believing that we could increase intellectual advance and create a leap in the number of mathematical, sporting, or artistic geniuses.

Lefties Rule! Where would the world be without us?

Righties, you are free to defend yourself…

[stilldancing_98]

I am left handed but I bat right handed. I write left handed but I golf right handed. Do you all still accept me as a lefty.

[Endless]

There are a lot of people who are right handed but are really left handed. It's because up until 10 or 20 years ago teachers and parents thought left-handed was "wrong," and they converted kids to the right hand. I've gotta think that would create some issues for them over their lifetime. Anyway, parents and teachers don't do that any more, and I think that's the reason why lefties have increased.

Kermit isn't really left handed. He was just sewn that way.

Roger Rabbit Drawn This Way - YouTube

Roger Rabbit Drawn This Way - YouTube

[Loopy Lou]

I'm ambidextrous

Not naturally though, i had a lot of problems with my right hand from the age of about 9 til i was about 20, so i learnt to do a lot of stuff with my left hand. I can write backwards with one hand and forwards with the other at the same time, and write my first name with my left hand and my last name with my right hand at the same time (try it!)

For most stuff i'm a righty though :P

[C0urt]

guess what, I am a left handed. but i write right handed. and i drop things all the time because i want to use my left or wrong hand and a lot of tools are not made that way.

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Still Dancing, you're still "eligible"! I'm cheating a little too! I cut things with my right hand, "mouse" with my right hand, start with my right foot (could that be why I fall so much???), but I do write with my left hand...and even though my handwriting is horrible, you should see any right hand attempts!

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Loopy Lou, You are a lady of rare TALENT!

[Nakamova]

My family (that is, my parents, siblings, myself) = 4 lefties, 3 righties. I'm a righty. My lefty sister is ambidextrous like y'all. Bats right-handed, throws left-handed...

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Well, I'm SORT of ambidextrous, perhaps that's why I'm so confused!

[BigWill]

I am right handed but my left arm is way stronger than my right arm, never figured out why. I can shoot a gun and cast a line ambidextrously but thats about it lol

[C0urt]

someone commented on my left handed bicycle dismount a bit ago I could not figure out what they were talking about.

[Rae1889]

Ambidexterous is the wrong word for meaning both handed. Ambi means very and dexteros means right. Essentially the word means very right.

Ambiaequos (very equal?) would be better I guess.

I am 95% both handed. I can write, eat, play guitar, hockey and violin both ways. I kick with both feet and catch/throw with both hands. I prefer to use my left as I like looking out of place in a room full of righties. At the moment with my hand being all messed up, the left side has gone down hill. Can barely write.

I started out as a lefty, then broke my wrist at 5 and was in a cast for 3 months, so I learned to write with my right. Other things just come natural to be able to switch. I think very abstractly and have no problem visualizing in my head how things are to be done opposite

[Nakamova]

I think in this case "ambi" means "both", so ambidextrous means "right-handed on both sides". There's a word "ambilevous" that means "left-handed on both sides," but no-one uses that.

[Rae1889]

I will use that from now on!

[epileric]

Etymology

From Latin ambi- (“both”) < ambo (“both”). More at umbe.
[edit] Prefix

ambi-

(non-productive) both, on both sides

ambidextrous
ambivert

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambi-

dex·ter·ous
: done with dexterity : artful <a dexterous maneuver>

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dexterous

[valeriedl]

You left out Einstein!

[stilldancing_98]

Oh, now I finally feel accepted some where.lol Thank you

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Hi Valerie, I know there's real long list...and it would be fun if you could add to the list or make a list for us all...

[BuckeyeFan]

I think I will spy on this group and make sure you are not trying to take over the right handed world!


I am absolutely RIGHT sided. My left side coordination is awful. It probably goes back to when I was an infant. They think I had a mild case of cerebral palsy and I wore braces on my legs at night. I don't remember any of that, but it may be a factor in my epilepsy. No way to know for sure.

Anyhow, all right side here and I will be watching you lefties.

[valeriedl]

I'm right handed but there's alot of people in my family that are lefties. It's fun trying to arrange everyone around the dinner table so we aren't all knocking elbows while eating.

Here's a good sized list, add on to it if there's someone that's not on it.

Here you go:

Left-Handed U.S. Presidents
James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1911 - ) 40th
George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st
Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd
Barack Obama (1961- ) 44th


Left-Handed Authors
James Baldwin, novelist
Bet Bowen, horror novelist
Peter Benchley, novelist
Lewis Carroll
Richard Condon, novelist
Jean Genet
Marshall McLuhan
Diane Paul
Helen Hooven Santmyer, novelist
Viktoria Stefanov
Samuel C. Warner (?), poet
H.G. Wells
Jessamyn West
Eudora Welty, see One Writer's Beginnings (1983:27)
[Thomas Carlyle - switched to left due to injury]


Left-Handed Musicians
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composer
David Byrne (Talking Heads)
Glen Campbell
Vicki Carr
Natale Cole
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Phil Collins (Genesis)
Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins)
Dick Dale (guitarist)
Don Everly (The Everly Brothers)
Phil Everly (The Everly Brothers)
Bela Fleck, jazz musician
Glenn Frey (the Eagles)
Eric Gale, guitarist
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) (?)
Errol Garner, jazz pianist
Judy Garland
Crysal Gayle
Kevin Griffin, guitarist & lead singer (Better than Ezra)
Thomas Hedley, vocalist/musician
Jimi Hendrix
Isaac Hayes
Tony Iommi, guitarist (Black Sabbath)
Albert King, guitarist
Melissa Manchester
Chuck Mangione, trumpet
Martina McBride ?, country music singer
Paul McCartney (the Beatles; Wings)
Christie Marie Melonson (opera)
George Michael (Wham!)
Peter Nero, conductor
Joe Perry ? (Aerosmith)
Robert Plant (Led Zepplin)
Cole Porter, song-writer
Sergei Rachmaninoff ?, composer
Maurice Ravel ?, composer
Lou Rawls
John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols / Public Image Ltd.)
Rich Szabo, trumpeter
Seal
Ringo Starr (?) (the Beatles)
Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)
Tiny Tim
Rudy Valee
Lenny White, drummer
Paul Williams, song-writer


Left-Handed Artists
Albrecht Dürer
M.C. Escher
Hans Holbein
Paul Klee
Michelangelo
LeRoy Neiman
Raphael
Leonardo da Vinci (RH paralyzed?)


Left-Handed Actors
Don Adams
Dan Aykroyd
Eddie Albert
Tim Allen
June Allyson
Harry Anderson
Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor
Herschel Bernardi
Robert Blake
Matthew Broderick
Bruce Boxleitner
Carol Burnett
George Burns, comedian
Ruth Buzzi, comedienne
Keith Carradine
Khaled Chahrour, Egyptian actor
Charlie Chaplin
George Gobel, comedian
Chuck Conners
Hans Conreid
James Cromwell
Tom Cruise
Quinn Cummings
Daniel Davis
Bruce Davison
Matt Dillon
Marty Engles, comedian
Olivia de Havilland
Robert DeNiro
Michael Dorn
Fran Drescher, comedian
Richard Dreyfuss
W.C. Fields
Larry Fine ? (of the Three Stooges)
Peter Fonda
Greta Garbo
Terri Garr
Paul Michael Glaser
Whoopie Goldberg
Betty Grable
Cary Grant
Peter Graves
Mark Hamill
Rex Harrison
Goldie Hawn
Joey Heatherton
Tippi Hedren
Jim Henson, puppetteer
Kermit the Frog
Rock Hudson
Angelina Jolie
Shirley Jones ?
Gabe Kaplan
Danny Kaye
Diane Keaton
George Kennedy
Nicole Kidman
Lisa Kudrow
Michael Landon
Hope Lange
Joey Lawrence
Peter Lawford
Cloris Leachman
Hal Linden
Cleavon Little
Shirley MacLaine
Andrew McCarthy
Kristy McNichol
Steve McQueen
Howie Mandel, comedian
Marcel Marceau, mime
Harpo Marx
Marsha Mason
Mary Stuart Masterson
Anne Meara, comedian
Sasha Mitchell
Marilyn Monroe
Robert Morse
Anthony Newley
Kim Novak
Ryan O'Neal
Sarah Jessica Parker
Estelle Parsons
Anthony Perkins
Ron Perlman
Luke Perry
Bronson Pinchot
Joe Piscopo, comedian
Robert Preston
Michael J. Pollard
Richard Pryor, comedian
Robert Redford
Keanu Reeves
Don Rickles, comedian
Julia Roberts
Mickey Rourke
Eva Marie Saint
Telly Savalas
Jean Seberg
Jerry Seinfeld, comedian
Christian Slater
Dick Smothers, comedian
Brent Spiner
Slyvester Stallone ?
Terence Stamp
Jessica Steen
Rod Steiger
Alan Thicke
Terry Thomas, comedian
Emma Thompson
Rip Torn
Peter Ustinov
Brenda Vaccaro
Karen Valentine
Rudy Vallee
Dick Van Dyke
Graham Walker a.k.a. Grumbleweeds, English comedian
Wil Wheaton
James Whitmore
Treat Williams
Bruce Willis
William Windom
Oprah Winfrey
Mare Winningham
Joanne Woodward
Keenan Wynn
Stephanie Zimbalist


AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Frankie Albert (Am.football)
Terry Baker (Am.football)
Mark Brunell (quarterback)
Bobby Douglass (Am.football)
Norman "Boomer" Esiason (Am.football)
Jim Del Gaizon (Am.football)
David Humm (Am.football)
Paul McDonald (Am.football)
Scott Mitchell (Am.football)
Gayle Sayers (Am.football)
Allie Sherman (Am.football, coach)
Kenny Stabler (Am.football)
Steve Young (Am.football)
Jim Zorn (Am.football)


BASKETBALL
Nate Archibald (basketball)
Walter Berry (basketball)
Larry Bird (basketball)
Adrian Branch (basketball)
Calbert Cheaney (basketball)
Dave Cowens (basketball)
Adrian Dantley (basketball)
Charles "Lefty" Driesell (basketball)
Mark Eaton (basketball)
Nick Van Exel (basketball)
Gail Goodrich (basketball)
Ron Kellogg (basketball)
Toni Kukoc (basketball)
Bob Lanier (basketball)
Brad Lohaus (basketball)
Harold Minor? (basketball)
Dick Motta (basketball)
Chris Mullen (basketball)
Sam Perkins (basketball)
Digger Phelps (basketball)
Willis Reed (basketball)
Guy Rodgers (basketball)
Bill Russell (basketball)
Wayman Tisdale (basketball)
Bill Walton (basketball)
Lenny Wilkins (basketball)
Manuel Zuleta (basketball)

HOCKEY
Tom Barrasso
Phil Esposito
Cam Neely
Terry Sawchuk
Roman Turek


BASEBALL
Steve Carlton ? (pitcher)
Whitey Ford (pitcher)
Paul Gibson (pitcher)
Lefty Grove (pitcher)
Ron Guidry (pitcher)
Al Habrosky (pitcher)
Steve Howe (pitcher)
Bruce Hurst (pitcher)
Carl Hubbell (pitcher)
Randy Johnson (pitcher)
Tommy John (pitcher)
Bob Kipper (pitcher)
Joe Magrane (pitcher)
Greg Swindell (pitcher)
Brady Anderson (baseball)
Steve Avery (baseball)
Harold Baines (baseball)
Barry Bonds (baseball)
Wade Boggs ? (baseball)
Lou Brock (baseball)
Brett Butler (baseball)
Will Clark (baseball)
Ty Cobb (baseball)
Adrian Dantley (basketball)
Lenny Dykstra (baseball)
John Franco (baseball)
Tom Glavine (baseball)
Lefty Gomez (baseball)
Leon "Goose" Goslin (baseball)
Ken Griffey, Jr. (baseball)
Tony Gwynn (baseball)
Rickey Henderson (baseball)
Kent Hrbek (baseball)
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson (baseball)
Reggie Jackson (baseball)
David Justice (baseball)
Wally Joyner (baseball)
Sandy Koufax (baseball)
John Kruk (baseball)
Kenny Lofton (baseball)
Fred Lynn? (baseball)
Kevin Maas (baseball)
John McGras (baseball)
Fred McGriff (baseball)
Heinie Manush (baseball)
Dave Martinez (baseball)
Don Mattingly (baseball)
Jackie Mitchell (baseball)
Stan Musial (baseball)
Troy O'Leary (baseball)
Paul O'Neil (baseball)
John Olerud (baseball)
Mel Ott (baseball)
Rafael Palmeiro (baseball)
Dan Pasqua (baseball)
Babe Ruth (baseball)
"Neon" Deion Sanders (baseball/Am.football)
Warren Spahn (baseball)
Casey Stengel (baseball)
Darryl Strawberry (baseball)
Lou Whitaker (baseball)
Ted Williams (baseball)
Fernando Valenzuela (baseball)
Tommy Lasorda (baseball manager)



Miscellaneous Left-Handers
Joan of Arc (?), French heroine
Lloque Yapanqui (?), Inca monarch
Ramses II (?), Egyptian pharaoh
Tiberius (?), Roman emperor
Alexander the Great
Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor
Julius Caesar, Roman general
Napoléon Bonaparte (?), French emperor
Josephine de Beauharnais
King Louis XVI of France
Queen Victoria of England
King George II of England
King George VI of England
Prince Charles of England
Prince William of England
Fidel Castro, Cuban leader
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime-minister
Ehud Olmert, Israeli prime-minister
Nicole d'Oresme, mathematician
Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer
David Rockefeller, banker
Dwight F. Davis, founder of the Davis Cup in tennis
Helen Keller, advocate for the blind
Dr. Albert Schweitzer, physician/missionary
August Piccard, inventor of stratosphere, bathosphere
Edwin Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
Wally Schirra, astronaut
Dr. Mark Silver, surgeon
Paul Prudhomme, chef
Cecil Beaton, photographer/costume designer
Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts (ambidexterous)
Dave Barry, journalist
David Broder, journalist
Edward R. Murrow, correspondent
Ted Koppel, journalist
Forrest Sawyer, journalist
Ray Suarez, journalist
John F. Kennedy, Jr., lawyer/publisher
Caroline Kennedy, lawyer/author
Ron Reagan, son of Ronald Reagan
Vin Scully, sports broadcaster
David Letterman (?), host
Jay Leno, host
Lenny Bruce, comedian
Allen Ludden, host
Joel Hodgson, host of Mystery Science Theater 3000
Wink Martindale, game show host
Uri Geller, psychokinetic performer
Richard Simmons, exercise guru
Euell Gibbons, naturalist
Marie Dionne, one of the Dionne quintuplets
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Clarence Darrow, lawyer
F. Lee Bailey, lawyer
Melvin Belli, lawyer
Marcia Clark, lawyer
Alan Funt, television producer
Milt Caniff, cartoonist
Bill Mauldin, cartoonist
Cathy Guisevite, cartoonist
Matt Groening, cartoonist
Jean Plantureux (Plantu), political cartoonist
Pat Oliphand, political cartoonist Ronald Searle, cartoonist
Pat Robertson, evangelist/politician
N.B. Forrest, Confederate general
John Dillinger, criminal/bank robber
Boston Strangler (Albert Henry DeSalvo), serial killer
Jack-the-Ripper, serial killer
John Wesley Hardin, Western gunslinger
Bart Simpson, cartoon character
[King Edward III of England, due to stroke