August 13, 2018 (Monday)
We love our special days. There are over 1,500 national days, an average of over 4 per day. One of several celebrated today is Left Handers Day, which is observed annually on August 13th.
Scientists don’t know why a person will be left-handed, but it’s more likely a child will be left-handed if one parent is. Parents of left-handed children used to force them to use their right hands. Left-handedness was considered abnormal and parents feared their children might be ostracized. While we accept left-handedness more readily than days gone by, its occurrence has remained rather constant.
According to geneticist Amar Klar, Ph.D., at the National Cancer Institute who studied the issue, many Nobel Prize winners, artists, and writers are left-handed, thereby indicating that they may have a natural creativity. Klar states that people who are either ambidextrous or left-handed are generally able to engage in more intense and complicated thought.
Michaelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci were left-handed.
Of the country’s last 14 presidents, seven have been either left-handed or ambidextrous. Estimates for the number of left-handed people in the world range from 10-12%. Therefore the number of presidents who were lefties is well above the norm.
If any presidents were left-handed before the 20th century, we may never know because they may have been forced to give up favoring use of their left hand. Determining exactly which presidents were left handed is a difficult task because during the 18th and 19th century (and even early 20th century), left-handedness was considered a disability. Parents and teachers fought to eradicate any signs of left-handedness in their children and students.
Left-hander’s Day recognizes the uncommon individual who throws, catches, writes and uses a fork with their left hand. They view the world just a little differently. At a restaurant, they seek out the seat that will place their dominant elbow on the outside of the booth. Right-handed athletes groan a bit when the southpaw shows up as an opponent on the roster. Lefties square off against righties all the time.
If you are left-handed, don’t be shy on Left-Handed Day. Show the world how brilliant and unique you are!