The Science Of Being A Lefty: 5 Facts About Left-Handed People That Make Righties Jealous
Science says lefties have a few surprising advantages over their right-handed counterparts.
Gaelle Leyllie | Unsplash Today, being a lefty is celebrated, but that hasn’t always been the case. People who used their left hands to write, play sports, or eat were seen as evil and were often accused of conspiring with the devil, engaging in witchcraft, or simply being dirtier than their right-handed peers. The preference for right-handed people became clearer as tools were created and distributed throughout the world — tools designed with right-handed people in mind.
Theories for the hatred of left-handers range from the etymology of the word “left” meaning broken or awkward in Old English to common bathroom etiquette. In fact, people assumed that the left hand was unfit for public use because it was the hand people generally used to wipe their bottoms after using the restroom.
According to Time Magazine, though, lefties started to gain acceptance in society after economists realized that they could market specially-made items to them for extra money. Of course, the trend didn’t immediately eliminate tension, but it did help the world understand that left-handedness wasn’t going to disappear. If you’re a lefty like I am, then you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of reasons why we’re awesome, despite all the right-handed hate.
Here are 5 facts about left-handed people that make righties jealous:
1. Lefties are incredibly rare
Most sources claim that left-handers only make up 10-15% of the world’s population, and science still isn’t sure why! What’s unfortunate is that more people may be born left-handed than we realize, but they may be encouraged to switch to using their right hand.
For example, my grandmother was punished for being left-handed and was taught to be a righty in school. Still, though, you’ll find more gag gifts and stores for left-handed people than you will find actual left-handed people. Well, that’s the theory, anyway.
2. Lefties have their own holiday
August 13 is National Left-Handers Day. Yep. A whole day to recognize our unique talent. And, if you’re curious, we also have a website and a club with over 140,000 members.
See? Aren’t you glad you chose the left hand to write with? Browse the site to find a bunch of downloadable posters to make your room a “Right-Hand Free” zone. To celebrate the holiday, you should ask your friends and family to do everyday tasks with their left hands (it’s more fun if they’re right-handed).
3. Famous lefties include presidents, royals, astronauts, and even Disney characters
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If you're a lefty, you're in seriously impressive company. Six of the fourteen U.S. presidents since World War II have been left-handed, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Gerald Ford. That's a striking overrepresentation given that only about 10 percent of the general population favors their left hand.
The British royal family has produced its fair share of southpaws, too: King George VI, the Queen Mother, Queen Victoria, and Prince William are all lefties. And if you've ever felt like space exploration was calling your name, NASA has noted that among the Apollo astronauts, left-handers appeared at more than twice the rate you'd expect statistically. That includes Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon.
Even the Disney universe celebrates left-handed heroes. According to the official Disney fan club D23, both Mulan and Tiana are left-handed, with Tiana's trait added at the request of her voice actress, Anika Noni Rose, who wanted the princess to reflect her own left-handedness.
4. Lefties have an advantage in sports
Our right-handed opponents can’t predict our throwing or hitting patterns in baseball or boxing, for instance, since we’re using our other hands. In fact, evolutionary scientists believe that left-handedness only lasted this long in our genes because it proved to be a great advantage for fighting and survival.
A 2019 study analyzed over 13,800 professional boxers and mixed martial artists and found evidence that left-handed fighters have greater fighting success than their right-handed counterparts. Since lefties make up only about 10% of the population, right-handed opponents rarely get the chance to train against them, while left-handers spend their entire athletic careers facing righties.
5. Lefties have overcome a lot of stigma
As you know from the intro and your history books, being left-handed hasn’t always had its perks. We’ve had to live in a world that didn’t cater to us, but we’ve adapted. Some decided to become ambidextrous as a result, while others chose to stick with their left hand. Whatever the reason, we persevered and came out okay.
Research by historian Howard Kushner found that being born left-handed exposed people to stigma and discrimination in around two-thirds of the world. In 1932, only about 2 percent of Americans wrote with their left hand, but by the 1970s that number had climbed to over 11 percent, and not because more lefties were being born, but because society finally stopped forcing them to switch.
Meaghan Summers is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, and relationship topics.
