International Left Handers’ Day is an international day observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals. Left Handers’ Day is celebrated on August 13th to represent the approx 13% of the population who are left handed.
On 13th August 1992 the Left Handers’ Club launched International Left-Handers Day, an annual event when left-handers everywhere can celebrate their sinistrality and increase public awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed. The difficulties and frustrations left-handers experience in everyday life have successfully led to improved product design – think scissors, tin openers – and greater consideration of our needs by the right-handed majority – although there is still a long way to go.
In the Northern hemisphere you have to face south to follow the sun and move from left to right until the suns sets in the west. This gave moving to the right and the right hand side a great significance. Another theory says that as the heart is on the left hand side, a shield would have to be in the left hand to defend it and any weapon therefore had to be held in the right, which became the dominant hand.
Christianity is strongly based towards the right hand. It is the right hand that gives the blessing and make the sign of the cross. On one count, the bible contains over 100 favourable reference to the right hand and 25 unfavourable references to the left hand.
Left-handers have achieved greatness in many walks of life, but particularly in creative, sporting and artistic fields – Barack Obama, Leonardo da Vinci, Escher, Paul Klee, Morgan Freeman, Lady Gaga, Pablo Casals, David Bowie, Annie Lennox and Michael Stipe to name but a few.
Being left handed does offer an advantage in one-on-one sports like tennis and boxing. Athletes, (left- and right-handed) usually train against right-handed opponents. When finally facing a southpaw, lefties can easily adjust—but righties are at a double disadvantage.
From a caggy-handed gauche editor
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