NATIONS WITH MOST LEFTIES
- Netherlands (13.2%)
- United States (13.1%)
- Belgium (13.1%)
- Canada (12.8%)
- United Kingdom (12.24%)
- Ireland (11.65%)
- Switzerland (11.61%)
- France (11.15%)
- Denmark (11%)
- Italy (10.51%)
COUNTRIES WITH LEAST LEFT-HANDERS
- Korea (2.0%)
- Mexico (2.5%)
- China (3.5%)
- Japan (4.7%)
- Taiwan (5.0%)
5 OF 9 RECENT US PRESIDENTS WERE LEFTIES
A much higher than expected number of recent US presidents were southpaws. Joe Biden (R), Donald Trump (R), Barack Obama (L), George W Bush (R), Bill Clinton (L), George H W Bush (L), Ronald Reagan (L), Jimmy Carter (R), Gerald Ford (L). Ronald Reagan was left-handed but was forced to write right-handed. Gerald Ford was left-handed but switched back and forth.
THE WORLD HAS 12% LEFTIES
On average, 12% of the world is left-handed, 87% right-handed, and 1% ambidextrous. However, the percentage of lefties worldwide is slowly creeping up as being left-handed becomes more socially accepted. The current 12% figure also varies by country and gender.
CHANCES OF HAVING A LEFT-HANDED CHILD
- Both parents left-handed – 27% male / 21.4% female
- Righty father, lefty mother – 22.1% male / 21.7% female
- Lefty Father, righty mother – 18.2% male / 15.3% female
- Both parents right-handed – 10.4% male / 8.5% female
LEFTIES…
- Suffer from allergies
- Prone to migraines
- Suffer sleep deprivation
- Use the right side of the brain
- Are smarter
- Tend to reach puberty later
- More likely to suffer language problems
- More likely to be male
- Better at multitasking
- Live less than righties
- Recover from strokes faster
- Have an advantage in certain sports
- Draw figures facing to the right
- Are more creative
- Some are scared of left-handedness
- Adjust to seeing underwater quicker
- Less able to roll their tongue
- Nails grow faster on the dominant hand
Dhillon, 25, is a left-handed person. Friends call him lefty. He writes, plays video games, and types the text on his mobile with his left hand. He also uses his left hand for eating more often than his right. A footballer, he plays for his team extremely well. Focussed on his work, he spends the rest of his time playing either video games or football. He is a voracious eater too and can have large portions of meals, desserts or soft drinks. He did not face a big difficulty in life because he is a left-handed individual.
Jay too is left-handed, writing and eating with his left hand. With more than average intelligence, he is good-hearted, kind but lazy. He is not outgoing or a sportsperson. In his thirties, this homely, family loving person, aspires for an easy-going, smooth, cool life. His left-handedness has not hampered his learning or interacting skills. Sometimes people find him illogical, as he enjoys being in the world of fantasy. Are these traits of a left-handed person?
Kavita, in her mid-eighties, still stitches, cuts and folds with her left hand. But she eats and writes with her right hand. While walking she uses her left foot, while stepping down or climbing stairs, she relies on her left leg. Automatically, not by choice. So, is she a lefty?
The above three persons are picked from everyday life around us. These people exist. In our society, we come across many people who use their left hand more often than their right. But all of them are not lefties who prefer to write or eat with their left hand. So, who actually are left-handed people?
On the occasion of International Left-handers’ Day (August 13) let us ponder on what being a left-handed person is, and how does it impact their everyday life. Does being a left-handed person or a right-handed person make a difference to the quality of life that these persons experience? The answers to this may vary depending upon the extent of using the left hand by these persons. For centuries, right-handed persons have ruled the world. Left-handers were ridiculed, forced to change their natural inclination to use their left hand. History tells us that many left-handers were even punished, as it was considered evil, a bad omen. But science and research in modern times prove that it’s just the way the brain functions and orders. And studies even tell that left-handed persons are more creative, artistic and talented.
THE ORIGIN
Very few people know that the International Left-Handers Day is held annually on August 13 and why it was dedicated to the left-handers. The concept comes from the West, founded by the Left-Handers Club in 1992, with the club itself having been founded in 1990. International Left-Handers Day is, according to the club, ‘an annual event when left-handers everywhere can celebrate their sinistrality (left-handedness) and increase public awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed.’ It celebrates their uniqueness and differences, who are from seven to ten per cent of the world's population. Thousands of left-handed people in today's society have to adapt to use right-handed tools and objects. The Day recognizes all those individuals who have mastered using their left hand in a right-handed world. This year it’s the 31st anniversary of the day to celebrate the uniqueness of left-handed individuals. The Day is also meant to help raise awareness of the troubles that lefty people experience with living in a right-hand centric world. Scissors, spiral notebooks, smudged ink, no one else can enjoy the awesome graphic on a coffee mug – the lefty struggle is real! In countries with a more formal culture, the rate of left-handedness is much lower. It has been suggested that the more complex writing style in many Asian countries is a major reason why the numbers are so much lower.
Special events are usually set up around the world, such as designated ‘left-handed zones’ where righties are encouraged to use their non-dominant hand to perform simple tasks. These special areas might only include lefty tools and utensils, in order to force people into finding out what it’s like being a southpaw in a right-handed world. Very often the lefties are overlooked by designers and developers though they make 12% of the population. It is also hoped that through participating in this day one can raise awareness of the need for ambidextrous product designs.
