World Left-Hander's Day
Left-Handed people. Who are they?
We decided to choose exactly this holiday because we have one left-handed person in our group-Jane. To tell the truth we thought that it must be offensive to be only one in the group, but when we’ve read a lot of information about left-handed people we don’t think so now! And now your turn to learn some interesting things about left-handed capacity. A person is called a leftie or left-handed when primarily uses his or her left hand more than the right hand for most of the daily personal work or other daily activities. But writing is not always the right indicator to judge a person is left handed or not as some people who are left-handed write with their right hand and use their left for every other work. Left Hander’s are a part of every human population throughout the world, though they are always the minority. Research suggests around 8-15 % of the adult population is left handed. More men and boys are left-handed than women and girls. No one knows the definite reason why people are born left-handed. But there are many interesting & fascinating facts regarding the Left-Handers, the most common theory is about brain dominance given by Left Handers the brain is cross wired so the right hemisphere controls the left handed side of the body and vice versa so the left Handler’s say that they are always in right mind!! Well that’s an interesting logic but nevertheless it has been seen that most left Handler’s are quite good in creative fields or in sports. This view is supported by the fact that higher percentage of lefties is there in general arts, music, and media than in general jobs or other professions. They have some natural advantage in sports like cricket, fencing, Tennis, boxing and other games involving hand-to-eye co-ordination. Some trivia’s and facts are there relating to lefties. As the fear of Left -handedness is known as Sinistrophobia. Also it is believed that among twins the chances of one to be left-handed is more. Most Left-Handers draw figures facing to the right if you see the world around you it’s made for the Right-Handers, from the mouse you are operating now to the desk in your school. But well if you are a southpaw there’s nothing to be disappointed or feel left out. Indeed one should be proud being a leftie, as left Handler’s has proven to be excellent in fields as musicians, sportsman and other activities. It’s surprising to know that eminent political leaders like Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and Ronald Reagan are all left Handers. And if someone starts taking names of famous left handed singers, musician and film personalities then the list is endless starting from the legendary Beatles Paul McCartney to the model & famous Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. In sports also the list is never ending starting from Mara Dona to David Robinson. Left Handers, also commonly referred to as Southpaws, are the brunt of more than their share of jokes all year long. How do I know? Yup, you guessed it! It ain't easy being a leftie. But those of us who are would have it no other way. Lefties are proud of it. The world is built for right handers. Examples are everywhere. For example: • In school, have you ever seen a left handed desk? They don't exist. • Many left handed items cost more. • Novelty coffee mugs are made with the picture or text for a right handed pick-up. • Scissors for right handers. Only a lefty would understand this. • The computer mouse you are using as you read this is designed for right handers. Left Hander's certainly earned the right to have a day dedicated to them. And, August 13th is that day. So take a minute to appreciate your left handed friends and loved ones. Remember today and every day: "Lefties have rights!" Left Handed Facts and Trivia: • Sinistrophobia is the fear of left-handedness. • Tuesdays are Lefties luck day. • Only about 10% of the population is left handed. • During the 1600's people, thought left handers were witches and warlocks. • International Left Hander's Day was first celebrated on August 13, 1976. It was started by Lefthander's International. • They say everyone was born right handed, and only the greatest overcome it. • It is believed that all polar bears are left handed. • There is a rumor that octopuses have but one right hand. Scientists are diligently studying this issue. Think about it: Everyone is a Left Hander in Left Hand, West Virginia. Things Left-Handers Are Good At The way their brains are organized, with the right hemisphere controlling their dominant left-hand, means they do things differently to right-handers. The left hemisphere (RIGHT HAND CONTROL) controls Speech, Language, Writing, Logic, Mathematics, Science; this is the LINEAR THINKING MODE.
The right hemisphere (LEFT HAND CONTROL) controls Music, Art, Creativity, Perception, Spatial awareness, Emotions, Genius; this is the HOLISTIC THINKING MODE. Sport and the Arts Lefties seem to have an advantage in many areas of sport. For example a lot of champion fencers are left-handed and there have been many outstanding left-handed tennis champions. Part of this is almost certainly linked with the organization of the brain with the right side of the brain that controls spatial awareness linked directly to the dominant left hand, giving left-handers an advantage when thinking in three dimensions and in interpreting information in a 3 dimensional space. A right-handed player will more usually face a "like-handed" opponent play a similar game and playing a left-hander is less common, whereas a "lefty" will invariably have faced more right-handers and thus be quite used to their "opposite" style of play. According to neurologists, left handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater and their have certainly been many successful left-handed swimmers, including multi -gold medal winner Mark Spitz. Left-Handers seem to be more accomplished in many areas of music and the arts, probably because of the right side influence of the brain. Are left-handers more intelligent?
1. "Everyone is born right-handed...but only the greatest overcome it."
2. "The left side of your brain controls the right side of your body, and the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. So only left handed people are in their right mind."
3. Among the Eskimos every left-hander was viewed as a potential sorcerer.
4. Zip Code 25251 is dedicated to left handers. Left Hand, West Virginia does allow right hander but everyone there is a true "Left Hander."
5. Can you name the fish with both eyes on the left side of it's head? The answer is at the end of this list.
6. James A. Garfield was the first left handed president of the USA. He was a bit of a show-off about the fact he was also ambidextrous. He would amuse visitors by simultaneously writing in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other.
7. Mark Twain was born frail and a lefty. His mother wrote of him. "I could see no promise in him. But I filt it my duty to do the best I could. To raise him if I could."
8. Left-handers have an advantage in baseball. A lefty batter is a step closer to first base. A southpaw pitcher can keep an eye on the runner at first better then a rightie.
9. The term "southpaw" was started by Chicago sportwriters in the 1890's to describe left-handed pitchers. Pitchers in the Chicago stadium faced west towards home plate. Their pitching arm was on the side of town called the South Side.
10. A left handed comedian started out his comedy career by literally dying for attension. He was a professional drowner in Atlantic City. His fake drowns lured people to the ammusement pier. Who was he?...the answer is at the end of the list.
11. Male southpaws outnumber female southpaws by a two to one ratio.
12. Leftie Albert Einstein was called backwards. He learned to speak late and had problems in almost every subject in school. Don't give up if your left handed child learns slowly. Just keep Einstein in mind.
13. Because rudders on ancient sailing vessels were attached to the right side they would dock to the left. This became "port" side.
14. June 10th should be lightning day. On this day in 1752 port-sider Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a lightning storm to prove lightning is really electricity.
15. The ancient Greeks were one of the few people positive towards port-siders. Their word for left was "aristera" meaning 'the best'. This is we get the word aristocrat.
16. Tuesday is lucky for lefties. It was named for the left-handed Scandinavian god Tiw. This is the best day to meet a southpaw.
17. The Kerr clan in Scotland believes their surname comes from the Gaelic "keir" meaning left. Many of their castles were built with counterclockwise winding stairways. This gives left-handed swordfighters the advantage in defending against right-handed attackers.
18. Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine are probably the most famous left-handed couple in history. They married on March 9th. If two lefties get married this is the day I would recommend.
An American scientist has gathered new evidence on the link between left-handedness and intellectual creativity, confirming that “true left-handers” tend to be more intelligent and eloquent than right-handers, and better at solving problems. Dr. Alan Searleman, from St Lawrence University, New York, presenting his findings to the American Psychological Association’s annual conference, said: «Left-handers have a higher ‘fluid’ intelligence and better vocabulary than the majority of population. This is perhaps why there are more of them in creativity professions, such as music, art and writing. » Dr. Searleman says that 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 food at problem-solving and have wider vocabularies than their right-handed peers. He enlisted about 1200 people for memory, vocabulary and problem-solving test. They were asked questions including: Do you hold a match while striking it with your right or left hand? Which ear do you use to listen to another person’s heartbeat? Which eye do you use to look into a dark bottle to see how full it is? He found that people who were “true left-handers, who did everything on their left side, from kicking a football to picking up a glass of water, scored one-third more highly on vocabulary tests and twice as well on problem-solving tasks. People who were found to be “mixed”, using both their left and right hands, ears, eyes and feet for different tasks, achieved the same scores as “true right handers”. The research also found that more left-handed people were intellectually gifted, with IQs over 140, Dr Searleman said .On the downside, left-handers were not so good at remembering things. «Although left-handed people had poorer memories they were twice as good at all the problem-solving tasks» he said. Previous research has suggested that left-handed people are less ticklish than right-handed people, are clumsier, and have a shorter lifespan.
The International Left-Hander’s Day International Left Hander’s Day is a day that every left-handed person in the world should celebrate. International Left-Hander’s Day was first declared and celebrated on August 13, 1976 by an organization called Lefthanders International. Though not as well know as other holidays, it is a day to address the myths and misconceptions about left-handers. It is a day to pay tribute to famous left-handed artists, athletes and entertainers, and to praise the creative talents of all of the less famous left-handers in society.
