6. Van Coon Was Murdered
Moving into the second episode of series one brings us to one of my favourite deductions in this list. Sherlock's deductions are at their best when they make us, as viewers; believe that we could do the same thing if we put our mind to it. They are so simple that you find yourself realising that you do the same thing. In this episode Sherlock visits the apartment of a banker called Van coon. The police believe that he has shot himself but Sherlock is adamant that he was murdered. He comes to this conclusion by deducing that he was left handed and therefore could not have shot himself from the right angle. Sherlock looks around his apartment and notices that all his items, such as coffee tables and mugs, are on the left hand side and so this tells him his hand preference. Sherlock mentions the fact that his electrical plugs are all on the left hand side. At this point I looked round and, sure enough, my plug sockets where all on the right hand side (my stronger hand). That is what makes this deduction so brilliant.