Having now spent an entire week with my left hand in a cocoon I can tell you exactly why we evolved with opposing hands. No matter how smart you are, when you’ve only got one hand, it is virtually impossible to do all sorts of basic things that even a child can do:

Washing my right hand. Think about it.

Washing or spraying deodorant on my left underarm.

Brushing my nightguard.

Putting on socks. It’s actually doable but very tricky. Baby

Tying my shoelaces.

Reaching into my left pants pocket.

Touch typing. This was dictated speech to text.

Peeing. I’m actually surprised that I somehow managed to get it in and out of my pants countless times without getting it caught on a zipper. Whew.

Opening a bottle of wine. This was particularly distressing.

Cutting food. My wife has to do it for me. Too depressing for words.

Cooking. Absolutely impossible.

Washing dishes. No complaints here.

Opening a zip lock bag. Without using your teeth.

Locking about half the doors in my house.

On the other hand (no pun intended), I must be at least as smart as a monkey since I did figure out how to peel and eat a banana one-handed.

My OCD got a little crazed when I realized I had to put my pants on left leg first – the opposite of how I’ve been doing it my entire life.

And after two frustrating mornings trying to teach my wife how to make cappuccino like a pro – not surprising considering it took me years to master – I did manage to make it work one-handed, although I did have to get really creative. The good news is I only splattered superheated milk all over the kitchen once.

Image credit Rikard Elofsson via Flickr