A predominance of right-handedness has been reported in Clawless Otters,
and while two animals don't make proof, both of the North American River
Otters I've worked displayed a distinct preference for the right hand in
manipulating objects.  (Lisa eats with her hand and always uses the right
one to explore small objects, and Oliver used to balance himself with
his.) I haven't known Olaf long enough to know if he does or not.
 
Also, the majority of trilobite fossils that were eaten by the anomalocaris
way back in the Precambrian Era had been bitten on a particular side,
meaning that either the trilobites were predisposed to swim away to a
particular side, or that the anomalocaris tended to turn the opposite way
consistently during an attack.  Either way, handedness goes back much
farther than was previously thought.
 
Re: California as the new USSR, it's been referred to as Kalifornia in
various newsgroups for years...One can hope things will change there
soon, but I'm getting less and less optimistic...
 
E.S, Hershey and Nestle'
[Posted in FML issue 1193]