[neilep (OP)]

Dearest Wonderful Peoples of science,

My ever observant daughter (9)just watched a chimp on tv eat a banana...nothing unsual in that !!..we always love watching happy primates eating !!..you just gotta watch me round the table for a start !![]..errhmm...anyway....What impressed me was that she picked up on the fact that the chimp held the nana in it's right hand, peeled it with it's left hand then placed the nana in it's left hand to feed itself !...so that got me thinking !!

Us Humans are mostly right handed yes ?....does this apply to our tree swinging pink bottomed cousins ?

Thanks

Neil




Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

[finchbeak]

Interesting question.  Here's a decent link:  http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ensab/Csp/horse.html

And this one is fascinating:
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/earth/waton/trilobit.html

Clearly, handedness has a long, deep history.

[neilep (OP)]

Thank you Chris, very interesting links indeed.....incredible stuff...many thanks sir.

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

[chris]

Great question.

According to Prof. Chris McManus, author of the wonderful book "Right Hand Left Hand" all about the science of handedness, chimps and other animals do show handedness, but unlike humans, where there is a strong bias in favour of right handedness, amongst other animals there are approximately equal numbers of right and left 'handers'.

Interviews with Chris McManus on The Naked Scientists Radio Show :

Interview with Chris McManus about the science of handedness 2003
Interview with Chris McManus about handedness 2002

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[neilep (OP)]

Thanks Chris...and thanks for the references to the interviews with the other Chris....Cripes...with all the Chris's on this thread it feels like CHRIStmas ..(oh boy !!..poor joke mode)...but seriously...thank you for the links Chris. That is fascinating that chimps and other animals are split down middle when it comes it to handedness...i wonder why ?...I know..I'll click the links...

Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!

[Ultima]

People are probably right handed because of social selection more than anything else... Even in biblical days lefties weren’t to be trusted. There is the old shaking hand’s with your weapon hand thing, that’s been around a while; they still teach you that in the scouts (lol). Must have all originated from a minor majority in being right handed in the past; since right handedness favours analytical instead of creative thinking, more suited to hunting. My Great Nan is left handed but was forced to use her right hand since the left hand was seen to be "The Devils". She is completely ambidextrous because of this. It's awesome she can sign her name from the middle outwards with both hands.... and she's 97!

http://www.theworldofstuff.com/lefty/

Plus the word right is used to say something is correct [] can’t get much more discriminating than that.

Chimps probably haven’t got to the point where they would have a reason to socially discriminate between handedness, at least that’s my theory [].


wOw the world spins?

[simeonie]

apparently all polar bears are left handed!

----------------------
Time is like a knife..... slowly and relentlesly.... cuts the cored of life.

-__- my website!!!!
http://www.simeonie.co.uk
has forums too!
Think about it! lolz

[David Sparkman]

In India there is a strong social push to use your right hand for eating, because you use your left hand to wash your bum. No they don't use toilet paper, just a bucket of water and soap isn't available because it would be stolen by the poor. In the expensive hotels they do have western toilets, but the roll of toilet paper has only about 1 to 2 cm thickness of paper, or maybe the help stole the rest of it.

Everyone ought to visit a third world country and have to step over orphens sleeping on the sidewalks to see just how poor leadership and a bankrupt pholosophy (you were born to be a garbage collector and that is all you as an untouchable will ever be) over a few generations can lead to a standard of living like you seen in Mumba (Bombay).

David

[Corbeille]

Originally posted by simeonie

apparently all polar bears are left handed!

 and parrots also!


 "Gentlemen you can't fight in here, this is the war room!"