Posted on June 20, 2008 - by Justin Hartman
Which direction do you stir?
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Brace yourself for one of the most random blog posts you’ll ever read from me!
I drink a fair amount of coffee each day and I always stir my coffee in a clockwise motion while making it. This got me thinking about whether or not stirring coffee in a clockwise motion is the norm for right-handed people.
It has been bugging me for about three days now so today I asked Gregor, Ian and Robin which direction they stir their coffee. The results were interesting.
Gregor is the only left-hander in our team and he stirs his coffee in a clockwise motion while Ian is right-handed and stirs counter clockwise. Like Ian, Robin is also right-handed and stirs counter clockwise.
This bugged me even more because as a right-hander myself I felt that I was now abnormal stirring my coffee clockwise. Did this mean that left-handers naturally stir clockwise while right-handers stir counter clockwise? I had to investigate further.
Within half an hour the four of us made some phone calls, posted to twitter and did a spot poll with anyone we could find in the office. All in all we ended up with a total of 35 people who responded to the question:- Which way do you stir your tea/coffee?
Of our 35 unsuspecting lab rats we had a total of 3 left-handers and 32 right-handers and you can see the results of each group below.
As you can see from the totals graph it is clear that stirring your coffee in a clockwise motion is the preferred and most natural way for most people.
I started this escapade to get a conclusive answer but now I have to admit I’m no clearer than I was before the experiment. Whether you’re left or right handed it seems that results will vary greatly and an individual’s stirring habits are simply down to personal preference.
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June 20, 2008
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I’m a righty who stirrs counter clockwise because its more comfortable for me. Here’s another funny fact.
get 2 people to make you a mug of coffee, a person who stirs clockwise and one who stirs counter clockwise. Make sure they use the same amount of coffee and/or sugar and taste the difference.
Us counter-clockwise stirrers always make the best mug of coffee, no jokes, ask my entire family and my fiance’s family. (I’m the only counter clockwise stirrer )
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June 20, 2008
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Ok, I would NEVER have given this ANY thought whatsoever =)
But now, dammit, I want to know – what DOES make me stir my tea/coffee clockwise (I am right handed.)
I wonder if this has any connection to whether one is left or right brained?
Is there any significance in it all? What, if anything, does it reveal ….?
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June 20, 2008
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Bloody hell! Thats random, but very interesting…
I’m sure there will be plenty of interesting theories, although Steven, I have disagree strongly with yours! We’ll have a showdown on that next time we see each other as I’m right handed and stir clockwise.
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June 20, 2008
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I couldn’t agree with Steve more if I tried
I was one of the counter clock stirrer lab rats. Random post, but fun
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June 20, 2008
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LIES!!!! THOSE STATS ARE NOT CORRECT. THERE WHERE 4 LEFT HANDED PEOPLE THAT REPLIED. I DEMAND A RECOUNT
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June 20, 2008
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@Barney, let’s keep the peace here please…..!
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June 20, 2008
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@StevenMcD – glad to see I’m not the only random person around here!
@justBcoz – I wish I had the answers for you. I really wanted to know if left- or right-brain had any effect in this but I don’t see any sign of this from my anecdotal experience. I think there’s a model for a research paper here
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June 20, 2008
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1. Left-handed, stir clockwise…
2. GET A REAL JOB!
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June 20, 2008
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I’ve got to manage you guys better…
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June 20, 2008
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@Justin: Thanks for the laugh
@Colin: Hahaha
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June 20, 2008
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I'm a righty who stirrs counter clockwise because its more comfortable for me. Here's another funny fact.
get 2 people to make you a mug of coffee, a person who stirs clockwise and one who stirs counter clockwise. Make sure they use the same amount of coffee and/or sugar and taste the difference.
Us counter-clockwise stirrers always make the best mug of coffee, no jokes, ask my entire family and my fiance's family. (I'm the only counter clockwise stirrer )
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
Ok, I would NEVER have given this ANY thought whatsoever =)
But now, dammit, I want to know – what DOES make me stir my tea/coffee clockwise (I am right handed.)
I wonder if this has any connection to whether one is left or right brained?
Is there any significance in it all? What, if anything, does it reveal ….?
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
Bloody hell! Thats random, but very interesting…
I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting theories, although Steven, I have disagree strongly with yours! We'll have a showdown on that next time we see each other as I'm right handed and stir clockwise.
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
I couldn't agree with Steve more if I tried
I was one of the counter clock stirrer lab rats. Random post, but fun
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
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Right handed, use left hand for cutting and stirring, and I stir in a counter-clockwise direction.
And I make damn good coffee
~ Wogan
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June 20, 2008
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LIES!!!! THOSE STATS ARE NOT CORRECT. THERE WHERE 4 LEFT HANDED PEOPLE THAT REPLIED. I DEMAND A RECOUNT
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June 20, 2008
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LOL – right handed – clockwise – does that make me boring?
great post
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June 20, 2008
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@Barney, let's keep the peace here please…..!
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
@StevenMcD – glad to see I'm not the only random person around here!
@justBcoz – I wish I had the answers for you. I really wanted to know if left- or right-brain had any effect in this but I don't see any sign of this from my anecdotal experience. I think there's a model for a research paper here
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
1. Left-handed, stir clockwise…
2. GET A REAL JOB!
Visit My Website
June 20, 2008
Permalink
I've got to manage you guys better…
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June 20, 2008
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@Justin: Thanks for the laugh
@Colin: Hahaha
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June 20, 2008
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Right handed, use left hand for cutting and stirring, and I stir in a counter-clockwise direction.
And I make damn good coffee
~ Wogan
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June 20, 2008
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LOL – right handed – clockwise – does that make me boring?
great post
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June 24, 2008
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I am right handed. I usually use clock wise stir direction but sometimes I use counter clock wise and sometimes both
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June 24, 2008
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I am right handed. I usually use clock wise stir direction but sometimes I use counter clock wise and sometimes both
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June 25, 2008
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Nice – just the kind of random stats that I like to see.
What software did you use to draw those nice graphs?
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June 25, 2008
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Al, the graphs were done in Apple’s Keynote.
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June 25, 2008
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Nice – just the kind of random stats that I like to see.
What software did you use to draw those nice graphs?
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June 25, 2008
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Al, the graphs were done in Apple's Keynote.
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June 30, 2008
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I’m left handed and I always stir counter clockwise. If I change to stirring with my right hand, then it’s clockwise. We lefties just do things the other way round to right handers.
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June 30, 2008
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I'm left handed and I always stir counter clockwise. If I change to stirring with my right hand, then it's clockwise. We lefties just do things the other way round to right handers.
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February 8, 2009
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@shartlen Maybe not. Funny I havent noticed this before. Some data found at http://is.gd/f6ry
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February 8, 2009
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Some stirring data found at http://is.gd/f6ry
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December 14, 2009
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Can I just say how happy I am someone else wondered about this? I just found you via Google search of “direction you stir”. I personally am a right-hander who generally stirs clockwise, with some variations.
Best,
Leslie
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December 23, 2009
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LOOL!! I was having this very debate with my husband this morning and I was very surprised to find that someone had actually done a survey on this. I was wondering if there are any differences between men and women and the direction in which they stir? Is there any correlation between the sexes and whether they are left or right handed. And just to be awkward; what about ambidextrous people LOOOL!!