Left-handed people, page 3

There was an article about left handed people in the paper a couple of weeks ago, wish i'd kept the article now! didn't say anything about being gay but the word left in most cultures (i think it was mainly european ones listed) usually means soething like devil or bad, eg, In Italian, the word for left, Sinistra is the root (through latin) of the English Sinister

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More interesting was the fact that left handers are normally born to women who are over 30. Now my mum and dad are both RH'd, they have four kids, i was the first, when mum was in her late 20s, I am Right handed. My three brother all born after mum was past 30 are all lefties! so theres one 'fact' that is correct.

More facts:

Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right

There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed

Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child, like King of England George VI).

Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.

Centuries ago, the Catholic Church declared left-handed people to be servants of the Devil.

Only a few decades ago in Japan, left-handedness in a wife was sufficient grounds for divorce.

The wedding ring is placed on the left hand in order to chase away evil spirits that may haunt the marriage.

Bedouins segregate the women to the left side of the tent to keep the right side free for the men. (Making it fairly obvious to determine which gender is considered more important.)

In Arab nations, the right hand is used to touch parts of the body above the waist, while the left hand is used for below the navel.

Natives on the Guinea coast never touch their left thumbs to their beer
mugs, in the belief that it would poison the beverage.

Maori women weave ceremonial cloth with the right hand, because to use the left hand would profane and curse the cloth - the penalty for using the left hand is death.

African tribes along the Niger river do not allow their women to prepare food with the left hand for fear of poisonous sorcery.

In Matthew 6:3 of the Bible, Jesus instructed his followers that when they do charitable things, to "not let thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." Jesus also expressed the following sentiments regarding the Judgment Day. "And before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...' Then shall He say into them on the left hand, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels...'

In the Old Testament, God told Jonah the wicked city of Nineveh contained people so sinful they "cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand," leaving us to infer that they cannot discern between good or evil.

On one count, the bible contains over 100 favourable reference to the right-hand and 25 unfavourable references to the left-hand. E.g.: The right hand of the lord doeth valiantly, the right hand of the lord is exalted (Psalm 118 vv15,16)

The devil is nearly always portrayed as left-handed and evil spirits lurk over the left shoulder (which is why you throw spilled salt over your left shoulder to ward them off).

Greeks, in their worship of Zeus, posted sentries to watch people entering the holy temples and make sure they entered with their right foot, because entrance with the left foot was thought to curse the building. Also, the Greeks took care to never put their left leg over the right while crossing their legs.

In Hindu rituals, followers are required at times to circle people and/or objects three times, from left to right to cleanse them.

[found some more on languages]
Even languages from around the world show how civilizations prefer the right over the left. The word "left" comes from an Old English word meaning "weak" or "worthless" The Italian word "mancino" is translated to "deceitful"...as well as "left". "No ser zurdo" is a Spanish phrase meaning "to be very clever", which is literally translated to mean "not to be left-handed". In English, the word "adroit" is commonly used to mean "proper" or "correct". In French, the word "adroit" means "right". The English usage of the word "gauche" is accepted as meaning "clumsy", or "awkward". In French, it is translated to mean "left". Our word "dexterous" comes from the Roman word "dexter", which in turn means "right". The Roman word for "left" is "sinister", and the phrase meaning "masturbation" is translated to "left-handed whore". "Linkisch" is German for "awkward" and "left".

All quite interesting really...