Left or Right?

Yesterday was international left-handers day. A day that isn't celebrated nearly as prominently as it should be, in my humble left-handed opinion. 

They say about 10% of the world population is left-handed.  Some studies suggest dogs and cats also prefer one paw over the other.  

Lefties have suffered hundreds of years of prejudice against them and face many challenges today.

Ancient civilization equated the left hand with evil. In ancient Greece, right was associated with good and left with evil. The tradition of wearing a wedding ring on the left hand originated in ancient Rome, to fend off evil associated with the left hand.

In the 1800's and 1900's children were forced to write with the right hand, often by tying the left hand behind their back.  I play all racket sports right handed because my teachers (older brothers) taught me so.

Here are a few examples of the challenges lefties face in our right-handed dominated world:

- Scissors

- Spiral notebooks and ring binders

- Can openers

- Writing from left to right causes smearing 

- The pleasure of writing with a quality fountain pen is out of the question

- Shirt pockets on the left of the shirt

- Zippers

- Wrist watches with the crown on the wrong side of the watch

- Tools and machinery

- Having to answer the question "Are you left-handed?" every time someone sees you writing for the first time. 

The list goes on and on.

And yet, left-handedness hasn't died out.  Despite the odds stacked against lefties, they continue to thrive.  Some notable lefties throughout history include:

- Leonardo Da Vinci

- Aristotle

- Bill Gates

- Oprah Winfrey

- Rafael Nadal 

- Prince William

- Barack Obama

 

The list goes on and on.

Celebrate with us.  I like to think we may all be born right-handed and about 10% of us overcome it!