Left-Handed for Life

Going through life being left-handed. Where strange things happen and stuff gets real.

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WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU BEING LEFT-HANDED MEANS YOU'RE THE DEVIL

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Scissors Make a Difference

I was talking with someone yesterday who I didn't realize was left-handed until she said, "we need to get some left-handed scissors here." I was completely shocked, since most people are right-handed and to me, all left-handed people are in a strange secret society. If you meet another left-handed person, you can already start up a conversation about something. 

The conversation I had with this person was about scissors. See, right-handed people think that you can just flip the scissors onto your left hand and cut perfectly. Many of my friends have even done this just to prove me wrong. Many right-handed people are too ignorant to realize that there actually is a huge difference between right and left-handed scissors. So whenever someone starts to argue about how there is no such thing as left-handed scissors, here are some important things to remember:

1. The handle part of right-handed scissors can be extremely uncomfortable for us lefties. Depending on the style, certain parts of the handle can actually dig into the palm of the hand instead of resting against it. 

These scissors were always the worst. Just look at that spot for the thumb. Ouch.

2. Yes, believe it or not, the blades are reversed. This is what people argue about all the time. If you take a pair of right-handed scissors and flip them over, the natural cutting line will be disrupted. 

3. When a lefty has to use right-handed scissors, the way your hand normally squeezes scissors is ineffective. This is what leads to paper tearing for lefties. By using a right-handed pair of scissors, lefties are pushing the blades apart, causing the paper to bend instead of cut.

  These are left-handed scissors. Notice the blade angles and how the line for cutting is visible.

4. Scissors that say they are ambidextrous are not. Typically, these types of scissors just take away the discomfort from the handle and still leave the blades for right-handed use. 

Right-handed and ambidextrous scissors are NOT the same as left-handed scissors. Few stores sell real left-handed scissors, but there are plenty of websites to purchase them from. Even if you’ve been using right-handed scissors your whole life, buying a lefty pair can make a huge difference, especially for children. 

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When you notice someone else is left-handed.

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They Say It's Beneficial

Most people have gotten over left-handedness being a bad thing. Sure, there are still some old teachers that like to spout out facts about left-handed people being witches. And hey, even some colleagues can't resist mentioning that being a lefty signaled the sign of the devil. But what they may (or may not) know are the benefits left-handed people naturally have. And hey, if these benefits make me a witch, I'm all for it. 

1. Left-handed people are more successful at learning how to drive. 

It might not be the most beneficial skill, but take a moment to think about it. Almost every car is designed for people who are right-handed. One driving school that took a poll found that 57% of lefties passed the driving test the first time around, compared to 47% of righties. 

2. Left-handed people are generally better at playing video games.

This goes beyond being amazing at Halo and Super Mario. It has been found that lefties are better thinkers and multitaskers. A doctor by the name of Nick Cherbuin found that left-handed people are better at handling rather large amounts of stimuli, making them better at playing virtual sports or killing zombies. 

3. Lefties have a greater advantage in many sports. 

Since most people in the world are right handed, it can be a surprise when they are playing against a lefty. In baseball, being a lefty can really confuse a right handed pitcher. A left-handed pitcher is always facing first base, and can cover a rather large amount of the field, since their glove is on the right hand. Lefties also have an advantage in tennis and fencing.

4. Left-handed people have a greater chance of having a high IQ.

Researchers have been trying to figure this out for a while, but they still end up stumped. For some unknown reason, left-handed people make up a large population of those who are highly intelligent. 20% of members in Mensa are left handed, while only 10% of the world's population is left handed. Some researchers believe this is due to the fact that lefties are forced to use both sides of their brain more often.

5. Left-handed people are better able to multitask. 

Being a lefty makes your brain think more quickly. This allows lefties to find it easier to multitask and handle large, usually unorganized streams of information. Researchers believe this is because the left and the right sides of the brain have to converse more quickly in left-handed people. The more dominant the left hand is, the better the ability to multitask is. 

These are just five of the many advantages lefties have over others. It's common knowledge that the world was built for right handed people, and it hasn't all been great. Worrying about pen smudges and being criticized for poor handwriting gets frustrating after a while, but having slight superpowers is a good trade-off.