Quizzes at Fun Trivia Fun Trivia | quizzes Quizzes | games Games | community People | services Services | help Help | me Me
New Player - Log In
Currently 9557 players online.   Trivia games, quizzes, and contests - FREE !     Get Started! quiz register


  • New Questions

  • Unanswered

  • Revisited

  • Your Questions


  • Post a Question
  • Goto Qn #



    111,129 questions asked
    383,106 replies


    Archives

    Why is it that some people are left-handed while others are right-handed?

    Question #69099. Asked by caNdylicious.

    Gnomon

    Scientists genuinely don't know the answer to this question, Candylicious, as the following quotes from Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998) show:

    "There is no extensive agreement on the origin of manual preferences."

    "Recent research, however, suggests that right-handedness and left-handedness are not genetically encoded within the body's genes but rather are coded in the spatial structure of ovarian cells. Other scientists believe handedness is not biologically determined at all, but is a factor of the environment."

    "Neither of these bits of evidence shows conclusively, however, that the cortical organization a person inherits is responsible for his hand preference."

    Aug 01 06, 5:40 AM
    zbeckabee

    Scientists have been studying "handedness" (i.e., which hand people tend to use for writing and other precise motor skills) for about 160 years, and they still haven't discovered what causes someone to prefer one hand over the other. Most people in the world are right-handed -- only 5% to 30% are left-handed. No one's sure if left-handedness is genetic, a learned behavior, caused by prenatal or birth trauma, or if it's some combination of these factors.

    http://ask.yahoo.com/20020628.html


    Aug 01 06, 9:20 AM
    debbie482

    Just for the record Im ledt handed
    I have 4 children all right handed and my husband is right handed


    Aug 01 06, 9:44 AM
    jules_babe

    I'm right handed, but play football with my left foot, golf right handed, and cricket left handed.

    Aug 01 06, 10:22 AM
    Blue1597

    My father did everything left-handed for everything except writing. In school he was hit with a ruler until he learned to write with his right. Of his 3 daughters I am the only one also left-handed, however, my brain appears to be somewhat cross-wired like jules_babe's. I throw a ball left handed but a frisby right handed. I golf left handed but hit a baseball and play guitar righthanded. LOL

    Aug 01 06, 11:59 AM
    CaroSun

    I learned in school that being right-handed is normal for human beings and being left-handed is a handicap. It has something to do with our brain. I'm sorry, I don't have a reference to back this up.

    Aug 01 06, 12:02 PM
    debbie482

    I write left handed but bat (baseball) right hande and use right handed scissors


    Aug 01 06, 12:08 PM
    Allergic2Life

    I have heard that the Romans required their soldiers to use their swords with their right hands, this caused the predominance of right handed people.

    Aug 01 06, 12:17 PM
    Baloo55th

    I rather think that's one of those legends. However, if someone has proved that the majority of the world's population is descended from Roman soldiers, I'll perhaps change my mind. In fact, the prevalence of right-handedness predates the Roman army. They can tell by the way that some sorts of stone tools are made or worn which hand was involved, and the majority show as right-handed.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldowan or more academically, http://bioweb.usc.edu/courses/2001-spring/documents/core103-032701.pdf.
    Page 1, fortunately. This refers to the dwellers in the Olduvai Gorge area, who are believed to be ancestral to modern humans. There was a predominance in the stone tools of 57% right to 43% left. Righthandedness (and lefthandedness) seem to be human characteristics, and chimpanzees show no preference for either hand normally.

    Aug 01 06, 2:14 PM
    Baloo55th

    A slightly irrelevant point. When teaching the recorder to left-handed pupils, I find they almost always put the right hand at the top and the left hand at the bottom. When asked why, they claim it's because they are left-handed. On the recorder you use both hands for virtually the same job, and the instrument is designed for the right hand to be at the bottom (it's to do with the double holes on the bottom two finger positions).

    Aug 01 06, 2:19 PM
    Gnomon

    I tried out a flint scraper, a tool for removing meat from an animal hide, which was made by Neanderthals in England in 350,000 BC. (This was at the British Museum). It was quite clearly designed to be used in the right hand.

    Aug 01 06, 3:12 PM

    Create a Free FunTrivia ID to add to, request more/new answers, or edit this entry

    Other Similar Questions & Answers


    Why does the skin of some people tan in the sun while others tend to just burn? And why do men seem more prone to burning in the sun than women?

    How come some people are double jointed and others are not?

    Why do some doctors end in '-ologist' (oncologist, gynaecologist) while others end in '-trician' (paediatrician, obstetrician)?

    Why do some people call it soccer and others football, where did they both originate?

    Suggested Related FunTrivia Quizzes - 90,000 currently online

    1 "Win" some People
    I've given you questions about 'con'men, 'law'men and 'pen' names, now here are some 'win'some people. They all have first or last names starting with 'Win'. Oprah Winfrey and Debra Winger would fit the bill, but they are not featured in this quiz.
    Name Game Tough
    10 Q
    minch
    Aug 18 02
    1089 plays
    2 All Animals Are Equal... But Some More Than Others
    This is a quiz on George Orwell's "Animal Farm". The book deals with the rise and the eventual corruption of Communism.
    Orwell, George Average
    10 Q
    Teej417
    Jan 28 06
    735 plays
    3 Some Like It Hot, Others Maybe Not So Much
    There are ten different weather-associated words hidden in the sentences which make up this quiz. Can you find them all? Thanks to doorsfan58 for supplying me with the title to this quiz.
    Hidden Words for Kids Easy
    10 Q
    poshprice
    Jul 18 09
    783 plays


    "Ask FunTrivia" is for entertainment purposes only, and answers offered are unverified and unchecked by FunTrivia. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or veracity of ANY statement posted. Feel free to post an updated response if you feel that an answer is inadequate or incorrect. Please thoroughly research items where accuracy is important to you using multiple reliable sources. By accessing our website, you agree to be bound by our terms of service.