The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-03-05

ms column.
organs-eyes, nostrils, ears, teeth,
etc.-on the right and left sides,
no person is completely symmetri-
cal
II you will take a photograph Of
your face and have it rephoto-
graphed from a mirror image and
then cut the two in half down the
middle and stick the two left sides
Of the face together and the two
right sides Of the face together,
you will be surprised TO see how
different they are.
Asymmetry is well known in the
case OF right handed and left
handed individuals. but besides
being right or left-handed, you
are right or left-legged, right or
left-eyed and right or left-eared.
Everybody sees better out OF one
eye than the other and everybody
hears better out Of one ear than
the other.
In 70 per cent Of human beings
the right arm ia longer than the
left and in the remaining % per
cent there is either equality or the
left arm Is longer
Asymmetry Of Legs
The aSymmetry OF the legs is
seen by paying attention to move
ments that you ordinarily do not
notice, such as getting on a BIZ
cycle, jumping from a height or
mounting a horse. II you are
blindfolded and placed in the mid
die Of a large field and told to
walk, you will invariably walk in
"a circle which may be a right
handed circle or a left handed cir
Gle, according to which Of your
legs predominates. A right-hand-
ed person is likely to be left-leg-
ged and vice versa. Two-thirds of
all persons are right-eyed.
or course, as you get older, Gus
tom increases the performance Of
your asymmetry. The right-hand-
cd person does more things with
his right hand and therefore it be-
comes more skillful and adaptable;
but even so If you set a person a
totally unfamiliar task, his right
or left-handedness will come out.
Men who have started life being
left-handed and are taught to be-
come right-handed, if given a nee
die and thread. will instinctively
hold the thread in the left hand
when putting it in the eye Of the
needle.
II you watch people at concert,
you can tell whether they are
right or left handed by the way
they applaud: the left-handers
bring the left hand down on the
palm of the right hand and no
matter how much they tend to
learn right handed movements,
they never get over this particular
habit.
1t is supposed that asymmetry
means a predominance of either
the right or left lobe Of the brain,
as the case may be, but this is not
easy to prove by anatomical stud
les
The significance OF right or
left-handedness is nothing. There
is no inferiority or stigma implied
in being left-handed. In fact. some
of the most accomplished men who
ever lived were left-handed: no.
tably, Leonardo da Ninci. He has
left a number Of sketches which
indicate his interest in left-hand-
edness. One OF these is a bass
drum with the stick attached so it
can be played with the left hand.
He sketched several musical in
struments which could be played
from the left side. His anatomical
drawings are described in writing
which is mirror writing. In other
words, a left handler naturally
starts to write from the right
hand side Of the page and this
slant of his letters goes towards
the left, just the opposite OF the
right-handed person.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
c. c. P.:-Can anything be
done to make a boy of IA quit
growing? He is six feet, two
inches now and still growing.
Answer: | think he should have
his pituitary gland examined by
the x-ray and get the advice Of an
endocrine gland specialist.
Subseriber:-What is cirrhosis
OF the liver? Is there any treat
ment that could be administered
to a patient which would help 10
prolong life?
Answer: Cirrhosis OF the liver
is the growth Of scar tissue in the
liver due to poisons brought TO it
from the intestines. In most cases
there is a history Of prolonged
and regular use Of alcoholic bev-
erages, although this is not true
in all cases. Treatment consists
in abstaining from the use Of al
cohol and the use Of a bland diet.