The Good And Bad Of Being Left Handed Celebrated On International Left Handers Day

Happy International Left Handers Day. Science says two things about my left handedness. One I am part of only about 10% of the population and they have no idea why I am so inclined. There are others in my family who are left handed I had an uncle and I have a cousin who are so no big hereditary indicator there. I was born in 1960 and I have been a lefty since day one. Given my age I definitely remember struggling with everything being set up for the right handed world. The upside is this has for all intensive purposes made me mostly ambidextrous.  Throughout history the left hand was reserved for peoples less hygienic activities so I am told.  This is why we shake with our right hands and the origins of a left handed compliment in reality being a crappy thing to say.

Things that were messy for me as a lefty included erasable pens, if you remember them, and having to do drafting in design school. As a lefty I drag my hand through everything I write so things get smeared and when you are drafting that is a bad thing. Other than that though, I like being as I am and have never really felt that being unique was a bad thing. Plus along with some of my favorite presidents some really amazing people throughout history have been leftys too. Here are just a few, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, Ophrah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Jimi Hendrix, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Sir Issac Newton, Alan Turing, Michaelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci. Makes me feel in good company and like a bit of an under achiever but what you gonna do.

If you love a lefty here is a great store with nothing but things for leftys.