Why Are Some People Left Handed?

From Joe Hanson at It's Okay To Be Smart.

My mom was born left-handed at a time when they trained you out of it, so she ended up largely ambidextrous, although there were still things (like scissors, easy to acquire now, but less so then) that she wished were available for southpaws. Makes you wonder why we don't teach ourselves (and our kids) to use both.

By the way, if you need a Christmas present for a left-handed person, buy them a good pair of scissors specifically made to fit that hand.

Joe recommends this book - A Left Hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meaning of All Things Southpaw, although this one seems to be the Amazon favorite on the subject - Left Is Right: The Survival Guide for Living Lefty in a Right-Handed World.

via io9, which also has this in-depth primer on left-handedness.