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HERE ARE THE FACTS: The photos below show that Barack Obama (who will become the 44th US president), Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Gerald Ford are left handed 'presidential-writers'. So, there is little doubt that these four US president are 'true' lefties.
The photos below include the US presidents from 1974 to 2009 - including 5 'lefties': The story behind Ronald Reagan's left-handedness is far more complicated. For, Reagan usually wrote with his right hand! However, in his movie 'The Killers' (1964), Reagan slaps Angie Dickinson with his left hand, something that most left-handers would do. Interestingly, Reagan’s biographer (Edmund Morris) has pointed out that in his movies Ronald Reagan usually twirled and shot pistols with his left-hand! Reagan also showed the inclination to wave with his left-hand. Why does Ronald Reagan write with his right hand? This can likely be explained by the fact that in his earlier years teachers usually learned (forced) children to write with the right hand. Although Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman are included in most left-handed lists, there is film evidence of Herbert Hoover and pictures of Harry S. Truman writing with their right hands. It is said that Truman first wrote left-handed as a child, but his parents made him write with his right. AN OVERVIEW OF THE US PRESIDENTS OF THE PAST 80 YEARS:
THE 19TH CENTURY: Going further back in time, another interesting annecdote can be told about James Garfield, who became the 20th US president in 1881 (he was murdered only 4 months later). Garfield is known as an 'ambidextrous' US president because he could write proficiently with both his right and left hand. Even more interesting is the report about Garfield that he could write simultaneously with one hand in Greek language, and with the other in Latin language. By the way, Garfield has also been reported as the only US president in history that has been employed as a “writing master” (writing masters taught students penmanship and were not uncommon during the 19th century). By the way, in these days "left-handedness" used to be considered as 'not right', merely because the word 'left' had a negative connotation in language. Some examples: In French, it's the word 'gauche', which also means awkward or improper. And in Latin, it's the word 'sinister', which we take to mean evil or unlucky. THE 20TH CENTURY: During the presidential debates a few weeks ago, you may have noticed that both Barack Obama and John McCain are left-handed. But in 1992 situatation was year more remarkable, when George H.W. Bush (Republican party), Bill Clinton (Democratic party) and Ross Perot (independent party), made a trio of 'lefties' who ran for the US presidency. WHY ... ARE SO MANY US PRESIDENTS LEFT-HANDED? Firstly, it might be interesting to take notice of the fact that in the history of science quite a few of the high-performers were 'lefties', famous examples are: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Second, it is also interesting to take notice of the fact that officials in Mensa (the high-performers IQ club) believe that as many as 20% of their members are left handed - while in general population usually only about 10% of people is left handed. Third, last year the long-suspected genetic component was found. Scientists at Oxford University have linked left-handedness with the LRRTM1 gene, which appears to increase the odds of being left-handed.
The last 5 US presidents all have a low 2D:4D digit ratio (lower than: 0.96), Sources: Wikipedia, Autograph Magazine, The Star, Anything Left Handed, Poynter Online TIP: Read more about why... Left-handed people are more intelligent and creative! |
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