The forbidden use of the left hand

I learnt something interesting yesterday. In India, you should never pass something to someone with your left hand. If you do, it's regarded as an insult.

Usually, we southpaws muddle along quite happily in a right-handed world, but it wouldn't be natural for me to hold things in my right hand to give to someone. I am too left-hand dominant. And I certainly wouldn't get on well in those countries where you have to eat with your right hand. I'd end up with most of my food down my chin and my front.

I guess it's just a matter of practise. Maybe I'll try both things tomorrow and see how I fare....

Left-handed illustrators

I'm part way through an evening class on how to illustrate children's books. In last night's class I noticed that, out of 10 students, three of us were left handed. Far higher than the national average of 12% but not surprising considering it's an art course and so calls on the creative, right-hand side of the brain.

What was interesting, however, was that one member of the class - who is right handed - decided part way through the lesson that she could draw better with her left hand. So there are now four of us who are southpaws.

This prompted our teacher (right handed) to say how, at art college, the right handers were encouraged to draw with their left hands and the lefties encouraged to practise with their right hands. The theory being that the hand unused to holding a pencil would be more sensitive.

I gave it a go but, erm, it'll be a while before I turn into the next Landseer. He was the artist who could simultaneously draw a stag with one hand and a horse with the other! Try writing different things simultaneously with both hands - nigh on impossible - let alone draw!

The perfect gift for a left hander

How many times are you stuck for ideas on what to get a friend or relative for their birthday or Christmas present? Well, if your hard-to-buy-for friend or relative is a southpaw, then it's easy!

Here are ten items just for starters that any left hander will be glad to receive:

• fountain pen
• watch
• scissors
• computer mouse
• keyboard
• wallet or purse
• ruler
• tape measure
• pencil sharpener
• Swiss army knife

And if they are sporty, then there are left-handed golf clubs, fishing rod reels, bowling shoes, cricket gloves, ice hockey sticks and baseball gloves.

If they ever venture into the kitchen, they'll be pleased to be given a left-handed bread knife or vegetable knife, potato peeler, can opener or corkscrew.

Keen gardeners would love left-handed secateurs or edging shears. Painters would give their left arm for a left-handed artist's palette. And don't forget there are also playing cards, guitars and notebooks designed especially for left handers.

If you're looking for a gift for a child, there are boomerangs, stationery sets and activity kits to choose from, not to mention junior golf clubs.

Still stuck for ideas?

Left-handed trivia

• The artist, Landseer, could draw two different pictures simultaneously with his left and right hands.

• If you touch type, the word ‘stewardesses’ is typed using your left hand only.

• Cats tend to use their left paw more than their right.

• The Kerr family of Scotland had an unusually high number of left handers. They even built their castle with a staircase that spiralled the other way so they could attack with their sword in their left hands. Today, the Scottish term, kerry-fisted, means left handed.

• Tools found from Stone Age times were sharpened equally for left and right handed use. Man only developed a preference for right-handedness during the Bronze Age.

• The American term for left handers, ‘southpaw’, was coined to describe left-handed baseball pitchers. It’s now also used to refer to left-handed boxers.

• Scouts shake with their left hand, not their right.

• Lefthanders International was founded in 1975 and has 25,000 members.

• Queen Victoria, King George VI and Prince William were, or are, all left handed. Both Victoria and George VI were forced to become right handed.

• Left handers are better at reading mirror-writing than right handers.

• It’s rare for identical twins to both be left handed. If one is a lefty, the other will usually be right handed.

• Only 1% of people are truly ambidextrous.

• There is a small town in West Virginia called Left Hand.

• In ancient Egypt, it was good luck to enter a house with your left foot.

• Four of the 12 astronauts who walked on the moon were left handed. On average, 10% of people are left handed but 33.3% of the moon walkers were.

• Nearly all the characters in the Muppets were left handed.

• Left handers excel at fencing. This is mainly due to the fact that left handers are superior at judging distance and at reacting faster. Half of the world’s top fencers are left handers.

• Thanks to our heightened spatial awareness, left handers are also better at games such as tennis, badminton and squash. In fact, 40% of world’s top tennis players are left handed.

• There are more left-handed golfers in New Zealand, per head of population, than anywhere else in the world.

What makes us left handed?

On last Friday’s blog, I mentioned that around 10%-12% of the population is left handed. But what exactly determines which is our dominant hand? It’s not exactly known, but here are a few theories:

• A number of studies have shown that left handedness is genetic. So, if both your parents are left handed, there’s about a 50:50 chance that you will be as well. If one of your parents is left handed there’s a 20% chance you will be and if both your parents are right handed, there’s only a 2% chance that you’ll be a lefty.

• Prematurely-born babies and those with a low birth weight have a greater propensity to being left handed. This could be due to brain damage to the left hemisphere of the brain which means the right hemisphere becomes the dominant side.

• Another reason is when the mother produces high levels of the male hormone, testosterone, and passes this to her unborn child. This could be why there are more left-handed males than females.

• Left handedness occurs more frequently in identical twins. However, they aren’t usually both left handed. You’ll tend to find that, where one is left handed, the other will be right handed.

• There was a study done in Canada which showed that women aged 40+ are more than twice as likely to give birth to left-handed babies as younger mothers. This could be because older mothers are more likely to have birth complications.

Whatever the reason for left handedness, those of us who are ‘southpaws’ feel we are part of some special ‘club’. Somehow different and, of course, special. :)

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.