Left Handed People

Being left handed has it’s challenges that’s for sure. The biggest one I see is at least once a week I hear, “Oh, you’re left handed”. Almost every time I want to say, no why or better yet, duhhh. This might be a little long but you’d be amazed at some of the differences.

Being lefthanded for several decades there are some things I just never notice much anymore. But, sometimes like today, I will hear again, are you left handed when people see you do something and reminds me that there is no doubt we live in a righthanded world. Thought I’d share some interesting things about being lefthanded that many people might not know.

First off stop asking, are you lefthanded. Do you know it’s a proven fact we hear that at least every 60 minutes over our lifetime. It’s obvious if I’m using my left hand that I’m lefthanded and it makes you sound like an idiot for asking. Do you know that less than 10% of the world population is lefthanded but almost 50% of dogs tend to favor using their left paw? I didn’t even know that one. Also seems we are prone to schizophrenic and alcoholic issues. This unfortunately explains a lot of my life.

Lefthanded people are more adaptable, especially in sports. Because we are used to being a minority we can more easily adapt to doing things differently. Apparently we are 20 times more prone to serious illness but how do they actually know that. Here’s a few more tidbits:

Being lefthanded comes from gene activity in your spinal cord not anything to do with your brain development.

Number pads on keyboards are impossible for lefthanded people to use correctly.

Can openers are impossible. Tape measures and butter knives are upside down and coffee cups are backwards for lefthanded people. Eating in a booth is nearly impossible for lefthanded people. We either bump elbows or bump the wall. Sit at a table though and even your own family will stop and debate what chair you need to sit in.

Remember the old school desk with the side table. Try using one of those lefthanded. It was a struggle for 12 years of school. Using a computer mouse is compromised as it’s designed for right handed people.

90% of guns have the magazine release button on the right side which is a huge deal if you’re lefthanded and finding a lefthanded holster is not easy.

Things I bet you never knew we pay a lot more for if something is made for lefthanded people: lefthanded scissors, spiral notebooks, printed coffee cups and guitars. If you don’t wanna shell out a lot more for a lefthanded guitar, you have to hold it upside down and restring it. Jimi Hendrix adapted and is even today one of the most iconic lefthanded guitar players. There’s Paul McCarthy but let’s face it, he’s no Jimi Hendrix.

My two favorite things are writing. I always have ink or pencil on my hand or smear the page. Because we write left to right my hand goes across what I just wrote. And the other is the barista coffee where they make you that fancy heart shape on the top of the cup with milk. Well not so pretty if you’re lefthanded. Instead of a pretty little heart you end up with what closely resembles a ball sac.

So people stop asking are you lefthanded. Take a minute and realize how adaptable we are and ask yourself could you function as well. And I guarantee, after reading this, you will notice every lefthanded person in movies or TV shows. You’re welcome.

And lefthanders, if you feel left out you can always move to West Virginia. They have a township called Left Hand. While it’s named after a nearby creek, we can still believe it’s a place for us.

Peace out fellow southpaws. Signed Slightly (signedslightly@gmail.com)