A left-hander is a person who actively uses their left hand instead of their right hand. It was precisely this community that spearheaded the introduction of International Left-Handers Day to bring attention to their unique needs.
A key objective of this day is also to push manufacturers to design products that cater to left-handers, making everyday life more accessible and convenient for the lefties.
It was started in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of the Left-Handers Club, today raises awareness about the everyday challenges faced by roughly 10 percent of the world’s population - from awkward scissors to can openers and most guitars- as well as celebrates those who sometimes feel like left-overs in a right-handed world.
Let’s celebrate Lefties who feel left-overs in a right-handed world, so let’s get dive in and know 5 most surprising facts about lefties you’ve never heard before:
Smudging ink strokes before the invention of fountain pens, writing left-handed with a dip pen meant smudging ink strokes on the paper.
Children in schools were compelled to write with their right hand-with documented cases of their left hand being restrained behind their back.
This tough practice and others like it were prevalent in various countries and school systems – from the US to Russia and Taiwan, where about 59.3 percent of naturally left-handed children had been forced to switch to right-handedness, according to a study conducted in 2007.
Unfortunately, left-handed people have long been plagued by negative stereotypes. The left-hand path’ was a term linked with dark magic, and during the Middle Ages, lefties were even accused of being in cahoots with the devil, leading to brutal persecution, including burned at the stake.
Historical biases have seeped into day to day language, with "Sinister" stemming from the Latin word for "left" and "right" also meaning correct.
This linguistic trend continues in other languages: French (‘gauche’ implies clumsiness), Italian (‘sinistra’ echoes the negative connotation), and German (‘links’ ties to ‘linkisch’, meaning awkward).
Left-handers are more likely to be male. According to the 2008 study, titled: Sex differences in left-handedness: a meta-analyses of 144 studies, 23 percent more men are left handers.
The 1982 study by Norman Geschwind and Peter Behan found that left-handed people had a higher prevalence of immune disorders, such as allergies and autoimmune diseases, compared to right-handers.
Moreover, left-handed people were roughly twice as likely to experience migraines as right-handed people.
The creative edge of lefties! A research that was conducted in 2021, suggests left-handers might have a unique brain structure, with more right-learning brain activity in movement-related areas.
This might contribute to enhanced creativity and spatial awareness. No wonder many famous creative, like Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix, and Lady Gaga, are left-handed.
It’s fascinating to see how this trait is represented in popular culture, like Brat Simpson’s left-handedness!
