My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff


--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Jeff Wisnia wrote in message ...
My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.

because most humanoids are right-handed?

Dalejust a guess


(Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff


--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Jeff Wisnia writes:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.

Most people are right-handed. More torque from a screwdriver tightening in
that direction.

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Jeff Wisnia writes:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.

Most people are right-handed. More torque from a screwdriver tightening
in
that direction.

Depends if you hold the screw driver with the blade end away from the pinky
finger,
that would give more torque un-screwing. If the blade faces away from the
thumb, then
you have more torque tighting. Give it a try.

Sheesh Jeff, I must have more time on my hands then you actually trying this
out. G

Bernd

In article ,
Bernd wrote:

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
...
Jeff Wisnia writes:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.

Most people are right-handed. More torque from a screwdriver tightening
in
that direction.

Depends if you hold the screw driver with the blade end away from the pinky
finger,
that would give more torque un-screwing. If the blade faces away from the
thumb, then
you have more torque tighting. Give it a try.

For larger bolts (or nuts), which you would tighten with a
wrench, the natural process for a right-handed individual is to approach
the hex (or square) with the wrench held horizontal in the right hand,
and the head more or less in front of your face. I believe that you can
get more torque on it by then hanging your weight from the end of the
wrench (thus producing a clockwise torque) than by pushing up on it,
unless you do a lot of workouts with weights.

This is probably why it seems more difficult to take something
apart than to assemble it. :-)

Even with smaller ones, such as with a 1/4" drive ratchet, I
seem to approach it with the wrench in my right hand, with the head
sticking out the thumb end. Or for more speed at less torque, I choke
up on it, holding the head and near part of the handle, with the
remainder sticking out to the right. So with this orientation,
clockwise tightening seems a lot easier.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Bernd wrote:
"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..

Jeff Wisnia writes:


My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.

Most people are right-handed. More torque from a screwdriver tightening

in

that direction.


Depends if you hold the screw driver with the blade end away from the pinky
finger,
that would give more torque un-screwing. If the blade faces away from the
thumb, then
you have more torque tighting. Give it a try.

Sheesh Jeff, I must have more time on my hands then you actually trying this
out. G

Bernd



And, did you ever realize that you find a long bladed screwdriver is
easier to "get more torque from" than a stubby one, even if the handle
sizes are the same?

That's because you've got to keep the bit pretty well aligned with the
screw axis to prevent its camming out of a slot or Phillips head screw.

So, with a stubby driver, the torque has to come pretty much all from
twisting the handle, but with a long bladed screwdriver you tend to
unconciously move the handle off axis and create additional torque by
also pulling on the handle in a "cranking" fashion. That torque would be
applied even if the handle was free to rotate on the shank. (Think of a
"speeder" socket handle.)

The longer the blade, the greater crank arm you can get, for the same
amount of tolerable bit to slot misalignment.

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:24:33 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff

I would say that most people being right handed , that one's thumb and
lower part in the palm of the thumb work better at pushing than
pulling to put things together.

Try crumpling up a newspaper and twisting it into a ball clockwise and
then counterclockwise... Bet lefties like it counterclockwise.

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff


--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."


Just part of the standardised thread forms that Whitworth introduced into
19th Century manufacturing. Why he chose right and 55 degrees for the
thread form instead of left and 54 degrees - God knows. Maybe
something to do with the direction of rotation of the early steam
engines and the right hand thread being less prone to coming loose?

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:24:33 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff
Because when God made the world He said proper threads should be right
handed. If left handed they would be sinister. Look it up
(sinister-coming from the left). Just like political opinions.
opinions on the right are what God wants. From the left they are
sinister and obviously from the devil.
See? Any question posted here can devolve into either a political or
religious off topic discussion. Or both.
And I sure cussed up a storm when I tried to remove the left side
lugnuts on my "67 Dodge Dart the first time.
Cheers,
Eric R Snow

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50. Since right-handed people invented the
threading systems for their advtange, this seems like the real question.

-Adam

"Eric R Snow" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:24:33 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff
Because when God made the world He said proper threads should be right
handed. If left handed they would be sinister. Look it up
(sinister-coming from the left). Just like political opinions.
opinions on the right are what God wants. From the left they are
sinister and obviously from the devil.
See? Any question posted here can devolve into either a political or
religious off topic discussion. Or both.
And I sure cussed up a storm when I tried to remove the left side
lugnuts on my "67 Dodge Dart the first time.
Cheers,
Eric R Snow

How about rope ??!
Regards.
Ken.

The human hand is more mechanically efficient spinning a
threaded form clockwise.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff



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"Roger Martin"

Just part of the standardised thread forms that Whitworth introduced into
19th Century manufacturing. Why he chose right and 55 degrees for the
thread form instead of left and 54 degrees - God knows. Maybe
something to do with the direction of rotation of the early steam
engines and the right hand thread being less prone to coming loose?

I don't think right-hand thread use can be attributed to any one individual.
Way too basic. Right-hand threading was the standard long before Whitworth. I
understand that vee-angle standardization is associated with Whitworth in
England and Sellers in the US, but in the US, the same standard right-angle
fractional threads that we would use today were common (but with sharper vee
top) before the "standardization" to USS in the 1860s.
My take from checking threading on some pre-1860s US machinery.

As to why righty, I don't know. But if you think of hand die cutting a thread,
say in vertical in a vise, it is "easier" for a right- handed person to start
the thread with a clockwise motion, pulling the die stock handle towards your
right side.
Frank Morrison

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote

My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)


The advantage to making most threads in the world have the _same_ handedness is
obvious. The reason we _call_ the predominant type "right-handed" is probably
because most people are right-handed. I mean, think about it: what is it about
the actual geometry of the helix that screams "right" or "left"?

Ben Franklin had a 50/50 chance to designate "positive" and "negative" in such a
way that the electron, the thing that usually moves when current flows, would be
_called_ "positive" a century later. He guessed "wrong", and we ended up with
some extra minus signs in the equations of physics. Likewise, the form of helix
we commonly use for screws could have been _called_ either "right" or "left".
Since the universe turns out to be weakly "left-handed" by the definition we
chose for _screws_, you could say that whoever named screws got it "wrong" too
:-)

-- Tony P.

Eric R Snow wrote:
And I sure cussed up a storm when I tried to remove the left side
lugnuts on my "67 Dodge Dart the first time.
Cheers,
Eric R Snow

Aw Yess. I had a 42 Plymouth with the same problem. My first car.
...lew...

Jeff Wisnia wrote:
My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.


Almost all nuts have right hand thread in them.
Same with glass jars. Making lids for the jars
or bolts for the nuts with left hand thread would
be stupid, you'll never get the lid on or the bolt
started. However when RH thread is used it all fits
together nicely. Simple eh? HTH
--
SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS
Have 5 nice days! John
******************************
--- ILN 000.000.001 ---

"John" wrote in message
...
Jeff Wisnia wrote:
My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.


Almost all nuts have right hand thread in them.
Same with glass jars. Making lids for the jars
or bolts for the nuts with left hand thread would
be stupid, you'll never get the lid on or the bolt
started. However when RH thread is used it all fits
together nicely. Simple eh? HTH
--
SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS
Have 5 nice days! John
******************************
--- ILN 000.000.001 ---

Think about it - you have just 'invented' the lathe.
You have just about exhausted the possibilities inherent in round shapes and
you want to go a little further. Threading rears its ugly head. The lathe
turns clockwise (as viewed from the head stock end of things - because that
is how the 'hand-held' cutting tool works). Your choice is - make the thread
right-hand and risk running into the 'chuck' or make it left hand..... or
maybe my lathe would have its drive to the right of the operator - keeping
my dominant hand away from danger?
"If I had a rocket launcher" *left* would be the direction of choice.
Regards.
Ken (Left hand dislectic machinist)

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads. (Both above and
below the earth's equator. G)

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used. But I can't see a
screwy connection to that, other than it taking less time to write
clockwise than counterclockwise.

Is there any history of a society which used predominately left hand
threads?

I experimented with a torque wrench and a big socket I could wrap my
fist around to see if my dominant (fancy word for my right) hand could
exert more twisting torque in one direction or another, and didn't
notice much difference.

Comments? (Other than informing me that I obviously have too much time
on my hands these days.)

Jeff


--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."


It is one of those things that likely is lost to history. Probably a
relevant
question is when were threads invented? I am sure that the first threads
were made from wood. I know that some woodworkers prefer wooden threads
for work bench vices and clamps. There are guys out there that specialize
in
wooden threads. The sell the big screws used in woodworker's vices.
Were there wooden screws 1000 years ago? 2000 years ago? Was
there a preferred direction for Archimedes screw?

Pete.

dalecue wrote:
: because most humanoids are right-handed?
--Not true; turns out this tendency is the last vestige of
conditioning that is no longer practised in (most) schools. Lefty-righty
is about 50-50 otherwise..

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Just another fart in the
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : big Elevator of Life...
http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

Peter Reilley wrote:

snipped

It is one of those things that likely is lost to history. Probably a
relevant
question is when were threads invented? I am sure that the first threads
were made from wood. I know that some woodworkers prefer wooden threads
for work bench vices and clamps. There are guys out there that specialize
in
wooden threads. The sell the big screws used in woodworker's vices.
Were there wooden screws 1000 years ago? 2000 years ago? Was
there a preferred direction for Archimedes screw?

Pete.


And then... For lovers of limericks:

**********************************************

There was a young fellow named Dick,
Who was cursed with a spiralling prick,
So he set out to hunt
For a screw-twisted ****
That would match with his corkscrewy dick.

He found one, and took it to bed,
And then in chagrin, he dropped dead.
For that spiralling snatch
It never would match -
The damn thing had a left-handed thread!

*********************************************

Jeff (Who located two more limericks in the same vein, but won't subject
you to them unless asked.)

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Our adoption of right-handed threads as the norm comes, I'm guessing, from two
things: our natural tendency to right-handedness and the mechanics of the
lathe.

By itself, our right-handedness should have no great effect in determining
thread direction. But it did determine that lathes - from the earliest
woodworking lathes onward - were built with the headstock on the left. I've
never seen one with the headstock on the right, but wouldn't rule it out. The
mechanics of the lathe dictate that the work generally turn toward the user.
So we're now locked into a machine in which the work or the tool, looking
toward the headstock, turns counter clockwise.

It all follows logically from that point. Spindle threads? Well, they've got
to be right hand or they'll loosen with use. Wooden threads? At one point,
they were all chased by hand. No difference between right and left, right?
Not quite. It's just as easy to chase a LH thread as a RH one on a lathe,
provided it's external. Chasing an internal thread is a different matter. RH
gets the nod. Taps and dies in the lathe? Again, the CCW rotation favors RH
over LH.

There are a few non-lathe processes that seem to favor RH threads over LH.
Twist drills or augers in a bit brace, for example. (Except maybe for the
left-handed person). With screwdrivers there may be a small edge. By and
large, though, I'm betting that it was the lathe that sewed things up in favor
of the RH threads.

John Martin

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Peter Reilley wrote:

snipped

It is one of those things that likely is lost to history. Probably a
relevant
question is when were threads invented? I am sure that the first
threads
were made from wood. I know that some woodworkers prefer wooden
threads
for work bench vices and clamps. There are guys out there that
specialize
in
wooden threads. The sell the big screws used in woodworker's vices.
Were there wooden screws 1000 years ago? 2000 years ago? Was
there a preferred direction for Archimedes screw?

Pete.


And then... For lovers of limericks:

**********************************************

There was a young fellow named Dick,
Who was cursed with a spiralling prick,
So he set out to hunt
For a screw-twisted ****
That would match with his corkscrewy dick.

He found one, and took it to bed,
And then in chagrin, he dropped dead.
For that spiralling snatch
It never would match -
The damn thing had a left-handed thread!

*********************************************

Jeff (Who located two more limericks in the same vein, but won't subject
you to them unless asked.)

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Well you have piqued my interest, so let me have it!

Pete.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


In article ,
Adam wrote:

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50.

My theory is that, if left to our own choice, equal number(*) of people
would be right handed as left.

Unfortunately, we aren't left to our own choice. I recall being scolded by
a teacher for using "the wrong hand" to hold my pencil. My dad had the same
experience. I've heard the same story from others as well.

*Footnote:
I don't say 50/50, because there are some folks who are ambidexterous,
and there are some folks who can't use either hand effectively. I believe
those latter folks are called management.
- --
Jim Wygralak Public key available.
OpenPGP (gpg) signed messages get a free ride past my spam filters.

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Version: GnuPG v1.2.0 (SunOS)

iD8DBQFAx2B0tFqyA5Dx6qYRAmXPAJ4ktHZyNNzRhUio+xJbDb 2wVWYLmgCfSGHh
O7Kb5fP64vNEzZrBis8ZPyU=
=OWxm
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

"JMartin957" wrote in message
...
Our adoption of right-handed threads as the norm comes, I'm guessing, from
two
things: our natural tendency to right-handedness and the mechanics of the
lathe.

By itself, our right-handedness should have no great effect in determining
thread direction. But it did determine that lathes - from the earliest
woodworking lathes onward - were built with the headstock on the left.
I've
never seen one with the headstock on the right, but wouldn't rule it out.
The
mechanics of the lathe dictate that the work generally turn toward the
user.
So we're now locked into a machine in which the work or the tool, looking
toward the headstock, turns counter clockwise.

It all follows logically from that point. Spindle threads? Well, they've
got
to be right hand or they'll loosen with use. Wooden threads? At one
point,
they were all chased by hand. No difference between right and left,
right?
Not quite. It's just as easy to chase a LH thread as a RH one on a lathe,
provided it's external. Chasing an internal thread is a different matter.
RH
gets the nod. Taps and dies in the lathe? Again, the CCW rotation favors
RH
over LH.

There are a few non-lathe processes that seem to favor RH threads over LH.
Twist drills or augers in a bit brace, for example. (Except maybe for the
left-handed person). With screwdrivers there may be a small edge. By and
large, though, I'm betting that it was the lathe that sewed things up in
favor
of the RH threads.

John Martin

John
That is the most convincing argument I've heard to date. Makes sense to me.

There is a book titled One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver
and the Screw. It probably has the answer, but I'll let someone else buy it
to find out.

Lane

On 09 Jun 2004 19:09:54 GMT, () wrote:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1


In article ,
Adam wrote:

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50.

My theory is that, if left to our own choice, equal number(*) of people
would be right handed as left.

Unfortunately, we aren't left to our own choice. I recall being scolded by
a teacher for using "the wrong hand" to hold my pencil. My dad had the same
experience. I've heard the same story from others as well.

*Footnote:
I don't say 50/50, because there are some folks who are ambidexterous,
and there are some folks who can't use either hand effectively. I believe
those latter folks are called management.

In my kid's school they are very careful about which hand is to be
used. Come to find out she's ambidextrous and base ball teams are now
fighting over her cause she's a switch hitter. I had to ask what that
meant cause I never did like sports.

In article ,
"Peter Reilley" wrote:

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Peter Reilley wrote:

snipped

It is one of those things that likely is lost to history. Probably a
relevant
question is when were threads invented? I am sure that the first
threads
were made from wood. I know that some woodworkers prefer wooden
threads
for work bench vices and clamps. There are guys out there that
specialize
in
wooden threads. The sell the big screws used in woodworker's vices.
Were there wooden screws 1000 years ago? 2000 years ago? Was
there a preferred direction for Archimedes screw?

Pete.


And then... For lovers of limericks:

**********************************************

There was a young fellow named Dick,
Who was cursed with a spiralling prick,
So he set out to hunt
For a screw-twisted ****
That would match with his corkscrewy dick.

He found one, and took it to bed,
And then in chagrin, he dropped dead.
For that spiralling snatch
It never would match -
The damn thing had a left-handed thread!

*********************************************

Jeff (Who located two more limericks in the same vein, but won't subject
you to them unless asked.)

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

Well you have piqued my interest, so let me have it!

Pete.



I'll second that motion

--
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I respond to Email as quick as humanly possible. If you Email me and get no
response, see http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html Short
form: I'm trashing EVERYTHING that doesn't contain a password in the subject.

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In article ,
Adam wrote:

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50.

My theory is that, if left to our own choice, equal number(*) of people
would be right handed as left.

Unfortunately, we aren't left to our own choice. I recall being scolded by
a teacher for using "the wrong hand" to hold my pencil. My dad had the same
experience. I've heard the same story from others as well.

*Footnote:
I don't say 50/50, because there are some folks who are ambidexterous,
and there are some folks who can't use either hand effectively. I believe
those latter folks are called management.
- --
Jim Wygralak Public key available.
OpenPGP (gpg) signed messages get a free ride past my spam filters.

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I was, up until about third grade (which was a very long time ago)
able to write with either hand, without any difference in quality...
of course a 3rd grader really doesn't write that well anyway, but
at that point in life, my teacher insisted that I choose ONE. I chose
the left (although I still can write with either, better with the
left). People ask me why did I choose the left - response "because I
can see where I'm going when I'm writing as my hand isn't in the way".
For what it's worth, I can also write backwards. Also upside down-
forwards. Also upside down-backwards. The talent (if it can be
called that) really hasn't been all that useful unless I'm lettering
the inside of a door glass or the underside of a translucent plastic
lid on a storage box, etc. I don't have any problem doing it, but
sometimes people have a terrible time reading backwards handwriting.
Ken (maybe with a few wires crossed somewhere)

Don Bruder wrote:
In article ,
"Peter Reilley" wrote:

snipped


Well you have piqued my interest, so let me have it!

Pete.




I'll second that motion


Well, ok...But remember, only 'cause you asked. I don't want too much
more evidence of my refusal to ever grow up geting around...

Here they are. Three versions; One more than I promised:

************************************

A distorted young fellow named Fred
Had a tool with a corkscrew-shaped head.
He found, having hunted,
A girl similarly-****ed,
But - alas! - with a left-handed thread.

************************************

The cock of a fellow named Fred
Was adorned with a spiralized head.
When at last he laid eyes,
On a **** the right size,
He was foiled by a left-handed thread!

************************************

His cock like a corkscrew expanded,
A spiral vagina demanded.
His search lasted years.
And ended in tears;
The thread of her **** was left-handed.

***********************************

Jeff

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

On 09 Jun 2004 19:09:54 GMT, () wrote:

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In article ,
Adam wrote:

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50.

My theory is that, if left to our own choice, equal number(*) of people
would be right handed as left.

Unfortunately, we aren't left to our own choice. I recall being scolded by
a teacher for using "the wrong hand" to hold my pencil. My dad had the same
experience. I've heard the same story from others as well.

*Footnote:
I don't say 50/50, because there are some folks who are ambidexterous,
and there are some folks who can't use either hand effectively. I believe
those latter folks are called management.
If you tested your theory you would find out that right handedness is
the more common version of human. There has been lots of speculation
why this should be. It is not cultural. Most people are born right
handed. Often though, the left eye and/or foot may be the dominant one
on a right handed person.
ERS

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 19:43:54 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

Don Bruder wrote:
In article ,
"Peter Reilley" wrote:

snipped


Well you have piqued my interest, so let me have it!

Pete.




I'll second that motion


Well, ok...But remember, only 'cause you asked. I don't want too much
more evidence of my refusal to ever grow up geting around...

Here they are. Three versions; One more than I promised:

************************************

A distorted young fellow named Fred
Had a tool with a corkscrew-shaped head.
He found, having hunted,
A girl similarly-****ed,
But - alas! - with a left-handed thread.

************************************

The cock of a fellow named Fred
Was adorned with a spiralized head.
When at last he laid eyes,
On a **** the right size,
He was foiled by a left-handed thread!

************************************

His cock like a corkscrew expanded,
A spiral vagina demanded.
His search lasted years.
And ended in tears;
The thread of her **** was left-handed.

***********************************

Jeff
Here lies the bones of Screwy Dick,
He spent his whole life with a corkscrew prick,
He searched and he searched in the feudal hunt,
To find the woman with the corkscrew ****.
He finally found her and then dropped dead,
The son-of-a-bitch had a left hand thread.


"A vote for Kerry is a de facto vote for bin Laden."
Strider

"JR North" wrote in message
...
The human hand is more mechanically efficient spinning a
threaded form clockwise.

Would that be right or the left hand ??

--

SVL

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used.

It was brought up somewhere in here why threads have any particular
handedness in the first place. The answer is: point your thumb in the
direction you want the screw to go. Curl your fingers around and they will
point in the direction of rotation! Use right or left hand as applicable.



Tim

--
"I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!"
- Homer Simpson
Website @ http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 17:41:04 -0700, Eric R Snow
wrote:

On 09 Jun 2004 19:09:54 GMT, () wrote:

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In article ,
Adam wrote:

I think the more interesting question is why are 95+% of people right
handed, rather than 50/50.

My theory is that, if left to our own choice, equal number(*) of people
would be right handed as left.

Unfortunately, we aren't left to our own choice. I recall being scolded by
a teacher for using "the wrong hand" to hold my pencil. My dad had the same
experience. I've heard the same story from others as well.

*Footnote:
I don't say 50/50, because there are some folks who are ambidexterous,
and there are some folks who can't use either hand effectively. I believe
those latter folks are called management.
If you tested your theory you would find out that right handedness is
the more common version of human. There has been lots of speculation
why this should be. It is not cultural. Most people are born right
handed. Often though, the left eye and/or foot may be the dominant one
on a right handed person.
ERS

And vice-versa on a left handed person, which is why I shoot right
handed now.

Pete Keillor

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 02:55:32 -0500, "Tim Williams"
wrote:

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used.

It was brought up somewhere in here why threads have any particular
handedness in the first place. The answer is: point your thumb in the
direction you want the screw to go. Curl your fingers around and they will
point in the direction of rotation! Use right or left hand as applicable.



Tim



all of these answers assume that the threaded thing will never need to
be *un*screwed. after sitting for a while, a thread will likely take
more torque to remove than it took to screw it in in the first place.
if the predominance of right handed persons and the greater hand
strength available to turn clockwise were the reason wouldn't left
hand threads be better?

wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 02:55:32 -0500, "Tim Williams"
wrote:


"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

Somewhere I learned that "clockwise", like the hands of a clock, comes
from the direction of rotation of the gnomon's shadow on a sundial, in
that part of the earth where sundials were first used.

It was brought up somewhere in here why threads have any particular
handedness in the first place. The answer is: point your thumb in the
direction you want the screw to go. Curl your fingers around and they will
point in the direction of rotation! Use right or left hand as applicable.



Tim




all of these answers assume that the threaded thing will never need to
be *un*screwed. after sitting for a while, a thread will likely take
more torque to remove than it took to screw it in in the first place.
if the predominance of right handed persons and the greater hand
strength available to turn clockwise were the reason wouldn't left
hand threads be better?

It would be interesting to find out what percentage of all installed
threaded fasteners are ever again deliberately loosened.

I'd but my money on it being less than 1% of them. And, considering that
probably more that 95% of fasteners are currently being tightened by
machines and not hands, in our mass production world, your argument is
reasonable, but probably moot.

Jeff
--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 13:17:05 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

all of these answers assume that the threaded thing will never need to
be *un*screwed. after sitting for a while, a thread will likely take
more torque to remove than it took to screw it in in the first place.
if the predominance of right handed persons and the greater hand
strength available to turn clockwise were the reason wouldn't left
hand threads be better?

It would be interesting to find out what percentage of all installed
threaded fasteners are ever again deliberately loosened.

I'd but my money on it being less than 1% of them. And, considering that
probably more that 95% of fasteners are currently being tightened by
machines and not hands, in our mass production world, your argument is
reasonable, but probably moot.

Jeff


In today's world, sure, but the thread started out asking the origin
of the rotational bias. a better question would be what percentage of
threaded fasteners at the time (whenever that was... ; ^....) were
removed. I bet it was pretty high. there would have been little reason
to use an expensive threaded fastener otherwise, when nails and rivets
were were cheap and easy.

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Jeff Wisnia writes:


My inquiring mind just asked me why the preponderance of threaded
fasteners, jar lids and stuff have right hand threads.


Most people are right-handed. More torque from a screwdriver tightening in
that direction.

Which is, of course, wrong. More torque *available* to untighten than to
tighten. I allways use a bigger wrench to loosen pipes than tighten
them.

(Ken Sterling) wrote in message ws.com...
I was, up until about third grade (which was a very long time ago)
able to write with either hand, without any difference in quality...
of course a 3rd grader really doesn't write that well anyway, but
at that point in life, my teacher insisted that I choose ONE. I chose
the left (although I still can write with either, better with the
left). People ask me why did I choose the left - response "because I
can see where I'm going when I'm writing as my hand isn't in the way".
For what it's worth, I can also write backwards. Also upside down-
forwards. Also upside down-backwards. The talent (if it can be
called that) really hasn't been all that useful unless I'm lettering
the inside of a door glass or the underside of a translucent plastic
lid on a storage box, etc. I don't have any problem doing it, but
sometimes people have a terrible time reading backwards handwriting.
Ken (maybe with a few wires crossed somewhere)

Wires aren't crossed. You are running on AC instead of DC.

Dan

"Peter Reilley" wrote in message ...
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

Was
there a preferred direction for Archimedes screw?

Pete.

It would depend on which shore of the river the screw was built on.

Why do we skate counterclockwise around the rink?

Dan

(Ken Sterling) wrote in message ws.com...
I was, up until about third grade (which was a very long time ago)
able to write with either hand, without any difference in quality...
of course a 3rd grader really doesn't write that well anyway, but
at that point in life, my teacher insisted that I choose ONE. I chose
the left (although I still can write with either, better with the
left). People ask me why did I choose the left - response "because I
can see where I'm going when I'm writing as my hand isn't in the way".
For what it's worth, I can also write backwards. Also upside down-
forwards. Also upside down-backwards. The talent (if it can be
called that) really hasn't been all that useful unless I'm lettering
the inside of a door glass or the underside of a translucent plastic
lid on a storage box, etc. I don't have any problem doing it, but
sometimes people have a terrible time reading backwards handwriting.
Ken (maybe with a few wires crossed somewhere)

Wires aren't crossed. You are running on AC instead of DC.

Dan
Aw man, my silicon rectifier stack musta blew....
Ken.