Five Strange Facts About Being Right Handed You Never Think About

Most people who are right-handed never think about it because the world around them, be it the most basic scissors, door handles, and so on, is designed this way for them. However, the science behind why about 85%-90% of people are right-handed is more complex and less settled than what many may think.

The Bias Shows Up Before Birth

A research project on 10-week-old fetuses discovered that 85 percent of the fetuses moved their right arm more than their left, very similar to the number of right-handed adults. When they are this young, they have no experience of culture, teaching, or social pressure of any kind, and it strongly suggests that handedness is inborn, not acquired later.

There Is No Single Gene Responsible

While there is clearly a familial disposition towards right-hand dominance, no gene has been identified as causing this. Though both parents may be right-handed, the right-handed parent may still produce a left-handed child, and researchers say that multiple genes and environmental and developmental influences within the womb all play a role in determining who will be left- or right-handed, with no single factor alone being entirely responsible.

Right-handed people tend to sleep on their left side.

Studies have revealed that right-handed individuals have a natural tendency to sleep on their left side, and left-handed individuals have a natural tendency to sleep on their right side. This is believed to link to the increased activity of the dominant hemisphere of the brain (the one controlling the dominant hand) while asleep and during sleep.

The word "ambidextrous" literally means "two right hands."

It is hardwired into the language itself that the right-hand bias predominates. The term 'ambidextrous' is derived from the Latin roots 'ambi' (both) and 'dexter' (right hand) and represents two right hands, which is a literal meaning, not a neutral one for equal usage. This is in keeping with the general history of language. In Latin, sinister meant left, and over the past centuries, the word came to mean threatening and corrupt.

Right-Handed People Are Underrepresented Among Elite Athletes

In fact, the number of elite athletes who are left-handed, such as boxers, tennis players, and baseball players, is significantly higher compared to the overall population of lefties. But for righties, it's a very small world because the vast majority of the time they are training; they are training against righties, and when they meet a lefty, they get a very measurable advantage that is not available when they are not playing in sport with opponents.

Why This Matters Beyond Trivia

These facts suggest more than a mere hand preference. Right-handedness seems to be set early in life and influences intangibles, physical habits of which most people are not aware, such as sleeping position, and is so ingrained in language and design that the vocabulary of fairness, correctness, and skill grew around the right hand almost by accident.