Know It All

More men are left-handed than women.

***

The human brain is made up of two hemispheres. Humans are contralateral, meaning the right hemisphere of the brain controls the movements on the left side of the body, and vice-versa.

***

Pierce Brosnan, a lefty, was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1991 and 1996. He was voted the sexiest man alive by People Magazine in 2001.

***

What do the following people have in common? Gerald Ford, Dan Aykroyd, Rock Hudson, Diane Keaton, Don Rickles, Ross Perot and Shirley MacLaine. See answer at end.

***

Kermit the frog is left-handed, as was his creator Jim Henson.

***

The first Kermit the frog puppet was made from cloth from an old green coat owned by Jim Henson’s mother. Ping-pong balls were used for eyes.

***

Left-handed Leonardo da Vinci wrote all of his personal notes from right to left. The notes had to be read in a mirror.

***

In 2003 Oprah Winfrey, a lefty, became the only African-American woman to ever be included on Forbes billionaire list.

***

The 2003 Forbes billionaire list named 476 billionaires from 43 countries. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, another lefty, was listed as the number one billionaire for the ninth straight year with a net worth of $40.7 billion.

***

Carol Burnett considered her friend Jim Nabors a good luck charm. That is why Jim appeared on the first episode of every season of the Carol Burnett Show. The variety series aired on CBS for 11 seasons from 1967 to 1978. Carol Burnett is left-handed.

***

According to the 1990 U.S. Census, Left is number 62,465 on the list of most common surnames in the United States. The surname Lefthand is slightly more common, at number 55,970.

***

Cats and parrots have general tendencies toward their left paws and claw. Rats and monkeys tend to be right-pawed.

***

Polar bears are left-handed. They are also one of the few mammals that have hair on the soles of their feet.

***

Southpaw (left-handed) pitchers in baseball have an advantage because they face the runner on first base. Left-handed hitters have an advantage because they stand two steps closer to first base than right-handed hitters.

***

Oscar de la Hoya, a southpaw boxer, was the only American boxer to win an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1992 summer games in Spain.

***

Medical literature reports that lefties are more accident prone, and are more likely to have their fingers amputated by power tools.

***

Of the 12 astronauts that have walked on the moon, four were left-handed.

***

Neil Armstrong, a lefty, first stepped on the moon with his left foot.

***

Answer: They are all left-handed.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.