Where do you find most lefties?

You might think: in countries where reading and writing are right-to-left, you will find more left-handed people. But it turns out to be the other way around.

Most left-handers are found in Western countries. In the Netherlands, the United States and Canada, this figure is around 13%. In countries where the language runs from right to left – which are mainly Asian and Arab countries – the number of left-handers is less than 6%.

In many Islamic countries, the left hand is considered unclean. Writing, but also eating and shaking hands, is therefore done with the right hand.

Long ago, in some countries, the left-hander was even associated with the devil and you had better hide it or unlearn it sooner rather than later.

Why people have a favorite hand and why it is different for a small number of people remains a big mystery. For example, animals do not show the same preference and finding a responsible gene has not yet been successful.

Thanks to: the latest edition of BBC Science Focus.

Small addition: researchers believe that awkwardness has something to do with genes. They suspect that 25 percent are genetic and 75 percent are due to other factors. In 2019, a study found 1% of this genetic component in the UK population. Read more here: Left-handed DNA found – and it alters brain structure.