14 Interesting Facts About Left-Handed People

Over the years, “lefties,” or left-handers, have made claims that they’re more creative, better in sports and more healthy.

Here are some fun facts that prove and debunk some of these claims:

1. About 10% of the world is left-handed.

2. Being left-handed is a genetic trait, which means right-brain dominance. And since the right hemisphere is the creative part of the brain, lefties can be more adept to master skills in music, arts and media.

3. Albert Einstein, President Barack Obama, Jack the Ripper, Bart Simpson and Marie Curie are or were all lefties.

4. Eight presidents have been left-handers: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

5. James A. Garfield was the first left-handed president. It was rumored he could write Latin with his right hand and Greek with his left at the same time.

6. A study from Georgetown University stated that left-handers may have better hearing than right-handers.

7. Famous athletes Phil Mickelson, John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal, Babe Ruth and Oscar de la Hoya are or were all southpaws.

8. Mothers who are over 40 at the time of a child’s birth are 128% more likely to have a left-handed baby than a woman in her 20s.

9. Some scientists have suggested that left-handers were originally in the womb with a twin who did not survive.

10. Research indicates that left-handers are more likely to become schizophrenic, alcoholic and dyslexic. They are also more likely to have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or mental disabilities.

11. Left-handedness runs in the British royal family. Prince Charles, Prince William, the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II are or were all lefties.

12. According to some doctors, right-handed people have a 9-year longer life expectancy than left-handers.

13. Left-handers had lower rates of arthritis and ulcers, according to a survey of over 1.4 million people.

14. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease did a small study that showed left-handers can have a difficult time processing their feelings and show more negative emotions.