A strange left-handed coincidence

Everyone's been talking for the past couple of months about how the US has had five left-handed presidents in the last seven. No, I don't think left handers are more siutable material to be in high office; it's just coincidence.

Take a look at this:

At school, five of us did Latin A level and we had two Latin teachers. All seven of us were left handed.

My niece works in a team of seven and six of them are left handed. Admittedly, one or two are in creative roles, but the rest aren't.

When a friend was at law school, all eight of them in the constitutional law tutorial were left handed - and so were their tutors! Needless to say. the tutorial desks all had tables facing the wrong way...

Lawyers and Latin students are no more likely to be left handed than US presidents. Sometimes it just happens that way.

More creative but also more forgetful

Apparently, people who throw balls with their left hands, use their left eyes to look through peepholes and place their left ears against the wall to eavesdrop on conversations are twice as good at problem-solving and have wider vocabularies than their right-handed peers. But we're also more forgetful.

Take a look at the full story on this blog....

Majority of left handers pass driving test first time

A recent article in an Irish newspaper revealed that, according to a poll for the AA Driving School, 57 per cent of left handers pass their driving test first time, compared with only 47 per cent of right-handers.

Simon Douglas, director of the AA Driving School, said: "Scientists have hypothesised for years that left handers are quicker to learn than right handers and, looking back through history, some of the most important drivers in the world have been left-handed."

Well, hooray for that story!

You can read the full article here.

Left handers and cameras

Ever since I got my first SLR camera about 20 years ago, I've been keen on photography. And the digital SLR I got last Christmas was the best present I've ever received.

But, like all left handers, I have to use a camera that has been designed for right-handed people because I'm forced to use my right index finger to depress the shutter. And, on my little point and shoot camera, all the buttons and cursor keys are located on the right hand side - the left hand side is all screen. The SLR has so many buttons and controls that there are one or two located on the left - but not many.

The other day we were visiting the Wetland Centre in Barnes (dozens of ducklings!) and got chatting to a chap who had a Sanyo Xacti compact camcorder. It was a really neat camera and very impressive for its size. It was designed so you could control it with just your thumb. But, yes, you've guessed it - your right thumb.

No left handers in China

About 10%-12% of us are left-handed, but not in China. Children who are spotted writing with their left hands are forced to change to their right.

As a result, you won't find left-handed people in China. And, not surprisingly, everything there is designed for right handers. So, if you're left handed and planning on visiting the forthcoming Olympic games, don't be surprised if you needs not catered for.

Mind you, what's different there! OK, there are lots of left-handed kitchen and sporting products available online now, but, here in the UK, every time we open a door or a window, go through the Tube gates, or operate a camera (the list is endless) we have to do it the right-handed way.

A gift, not an affliction

I find it hard to understand why many right handers think being left handed is some kind of handicap. Yes, we have to adapt and survive in a world that's not designed for us, but I see it as a gift - not an affliction.

Left handers - who have a dominant right brain - are more creative, more imaginative, more artistic, more...well, here's a favourite quote of mine which just about sums it up perfectly:

"Left handers are wired into the artistic half of the brain which makes them imaginative, creative, surprising, ambiguous, exasperating, stubborn, emotional, witty, obsessive, infuriating, delightful, original, and never, never dull.” From 'The World's Greatest Left Handers' by James T de Kay and Sandy Huffaker

Death by right-handed implement

I read something over the weekend that said 2,500 left handers die each year using products designed for right handers.

That led me to thinking: what were these people doing? Stabbing themselves due to out-of-control scissors? Getting into a life-threatening situation with a tin opener? Suffering a coronary from a right-handed computer keyboard?

As a southpaw, I know how much easier everyday tasks are when you use left-handed implements but I find it hard to believe 2,500 people put their lives at risk each year by using products that were designed for right handers.

Do left handers get more migraines?

I read an article the other day about a study that claimed left handers ran several times the risk of suffering from migraines as their right-handed counterparts. This was because they found there was a higher frequency of left-handedness in patients who suffered from migraines than in their control groups.

Interesting finding, but why should that be?

I then read that another study, done by scientists in Germany, found there was no evidence at all to suggest we southpaws are more prone to migraines.

So how are we supposed to know what to believe when we read such articles? My anecdotal evidence is that the people I know who suffer from migraines are all right handed.

Cooking left handed

Lucky me; I’ve got a brand spanking new kitchen. And that means at long last the electric hob with dials on the right is in the skip. So is the microwave with its control panel on the right. I have managed to find ‘ambidextrous’ kitchen appliances which left and right handers can use with equal ease.

Mind you, I think the sales guy at Peter Jones thought I was a bit strange when he saw me dismissing cookers, ovens and the like with one swift glance.

“But it’s the latest model, madam.”

“Maybe, but the dials are on the right.”

I got the impression he’d never had a left-handed customer before…

In my search for the ‘perfect’ kitchen, I even found sinks that are designed for left handers (draining board on the other side). And best of all, I spotted a few toasters with both the controls and the lever for pushing down the bread on the front. But I have yet to find a special toaster that’s made specifically for left handers. If anyone knows of one, do tell.

So I can go and tie my right hand behind my back and still master all my new appliances. Cooking just got that much more enjoyable. :)

Taking the plunge

'No, I'm not going to blog.' I was adamant. Firstly, I wouldn't be disciplined enough to write regular postings. Secondly, no-one would be in the slightest bit interested in reading it.

Mmmm, but 50 million + people think it's a good idea. So, I decided to dip my tentative toe into the big, wide world of blogging by reading one or two. And now, I've donned my goggles and snorkel and have plunged right in. So, come on in, the water's lovely.

Just because The Left Hander will focus on matters 'southpaw' and 'sinister' doesn't mean right handers aren't welcome into my left-handed world. I hope that left handers, right handers and the ambidextrous will read it.

Here's an interesting thing: there's a fair likelihood that the next US President will be a southpaw, as both Barack Obama and John McCain are left handed. In fact, four of the last six presidents have been left handers so, if either Obama or McCain wins, this will make it five out of seven. And, when only 10%-12% of people are left handed, that's a pretty amazing statistic.