Great topic! I am steadfastly right handed so I appreciate seeing how things work for those who are not (interesting that female lefties are even rarer than their male counterparts (sticking with those two general sexes). I think I've heard about the scissors issue before, ugh, my sympathies. Occasionally I experiment with writing with my left hand. I can almost do a decent job with the printing but it's a struggle! As for cursive writing with the left hand... ugh.
Your mention of Paul McCartney is interesting because that made me think of other musicians whose handedness may conflict with the instrument orientation that they use. According to a quick Google search, the following musicians are naturally left handed but play their guitars right handed: Duane Allman, Elvis Costello, Joe Perry, Johnny Winters, Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, and Billy Corgan. Then there's Jimi Hendrix, who wrote with his right hand but played left handed... maybe he was forced to use his right hand to write?
I’m right-handed - but I do not know my left and my right, and I’m left-handed when it comes to things like sports and interestingly, I usually walk with my left foot first. But I’m awful at left-right discrimination and honestly I was so stressed about it during my driving test because I will go the opposite way. I’ve never been good at distinguishing them, it’s always work for me.
I also enjoyed the analysis of the roots and meanings of 'left'.
Regarding marking and not being able to tick. When I was teaching I got fed up with ticks, so I bought a smiley face stamp and used that instead. Much better.
And thanks for the shout-out. I'm working on my reply to your letter now. I'm considering a more formal beginning than you adopted, perhaps on the lines of:
"Madam
I am disposed to refer to your epistle of the 1st inst, in which you provided me with a detailed account of your gaiters. I must insist, Madam, etc etc"
Great story Rebecca! Interesting statistics on who is left-handed. Only one person in my family is left-handed. And it's not me. I never really thought about the problems lefty's would have with pockets on pants or jackets.
You made a lot of valid points. The left-hander is at a disadvantage on a lot of stuff. I just tried to write left-handed. I wrote my name and your name in print and cursive. It didn't go very well.
As far as the phone, as a right-hander, I always hold it in my right-hand. That's the way it seems more comfortable and I can hear people better. If I have write something down, I still hold it up to my right ear but with my left-hand so I can use my right-hand to write everything down.
It always amazes me that your lists are so detailed. Sometimes I wonder if you have any time to do anything else. Of course, you do but I would think this would take up a lot of time. Personally, for my grocery list, I just check the fridge and the cupboards to see what is gone and write it down the night before I go to the store.
My dad is also a lefty, so I appreciate some of the difficulties you have to deal with on a daily basis. He's told stories about how the nuns in Catholic school used to force him to write with his right hand as a kid. It didn't take. And it seems that a lot of interesting figures in history have also been lefties, making me wonder if all of that adaptiveness and creative problem solving isn't a secret (sinister?) super power... :-)
Scissors! Growing up, I thought all scissors were uncomfortable and unwieldy. I remember getting my first pair of left-handers. Revelation! I also managed to find a left-handed potato peeler and hand-held can opener and many other "gadgets" that made life easier for a cack-handed south paw. Thanks for drawing attention to this phenomenon, Rebecca. ( PS remember: Left-handed equals right-brained. Many artists, musicians, writers are left-handed)
Thanks for all the word lessons here, Rebecca, and for this wonderful post on left-handedness. My dad is a lefty, so we grew up a bit more attuned to the challenges for the rare ones of the world. I do have a couple of “left” ways of doing things because he taught me--I shoot a gun left handed (lots of hunting where I live, so I shot a gun at an early age--left finger on the trigger), and I discovered one day that I loop my shoelaces differently.
Of note--I never considered how words were written on a pencil, and ONE single back pocket?! That’s lunacy!
Also now we’ll need you to devote a post to this increíble fridge/freezer inventory method!
I come from a family of male left-handers. My father’s generation had their left-handedness trained out of them. As somone who struggles every day with how the world is laid out, I really resonated with this post. And whilst we try to meet it with good humour, it often does leave one feeling out at sea.
You know, as an inveterate right-hander, this way of seeing the world just doesn’t speak to me. The whole “this doesn’t work for me” vibe just feels off. And THAT must be how you feel. I’m gonna have to think about that one a bit.
Thanks for sharing, great post 😊 It’s not something I’ve thought much of, but isn’t that always the case when we sit with the privilege of the majority? So I learned a lot!
Also, that A4 sheet for meal planning...is that a template you can share?! 👀
There was a lot of controversy over King Charles' stroppy behaviour when the inkwell got in his way, at his official accession. I did think it was a bit harsh to be so upset with him. His mother had just died, he'd had the weight of at least a small bit of the world dumped upon his shoulders, he has terribly rheumatic hands, and after all, someone's only job was to set up a table where he could easily and comfortably sign the dreaded documents.
However.
What really made us smile was Prince William. Having watched his father get in a right two and eight about the fact that the inkwell was *in his way* he followed on with a distinct look of 'hold my beer - I'm left handed mate, everything's in my way permanently' and managed to sign the thing at a properly weird angle with nowhere on earth to put his elbow, and no fuss at all.
As a fellow left-hander, I could only chuckle and nod at things most take for granted while we lefties are "left" out in the cold. I suppose there is a silver lining in that I think being left-handed fosters adaptability that we can apply to almost anything. I feel your pain! :)
hell yesssss i feel seen! I've never thought about how stuff is more difficult though besides of course scissors, a big reason why I never got into any arts and crafts sort of stuff.
The biggest pain for me is the smudging. I like fountain pens and other pens with ink of wet repute. And as my dumb little hand scrawls across the page to keep up with my ideas, bam, everything is smudged. And I end up with the left side of my pinky all the way down the palm covered in said ink
Great topic! I am steadfastly right handed so I appreciate seeing how things work for those who are not (interesting that female lefties are even rarer than their male counterparts (sticking with those two general sexes). I think I've heard about the scissors issue before, ugh, my sympathies. Occasionally I experiment with writing with my left hand. I can almost do a decent job with the printing but it's a struggle! As for cursive writing with the left hand... ugh.
Your mention of Paul McCartney is interesting because that made me think of other musicians whose handedness may conflict with the instrument orientation that they use. According to a quick Google search, the following musicians are naturally left handed but play their guitars right handed: Duane Allman, Elvis Costello, Joe Perry, Johnny Winters, Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, and Billy Corgan. Then there's Jimi Hendrix, who wrote with his right hand but played left handed... maybe he was forced to use his right hand to write?
Thanks for another fun post!
I’m right-handed - but I do not know my left and my right, and I’m left-handed when it comes to things like sports and interestingly, I usually walk with my left foot first. But I’m awful at left-right discrimination and honestly I was so stressed about it during my driving test because I will go the opposite way. I’ve never been good at distinguishing them, it’s always work for me.
I loved this post, Rebecca, because of its humour, and setting out clearly the problems faced by sinister I mean left-handed people.
Are you aware of the left-handed shop in London? https://anythinglefthanded.co.uk/ I used to like looking in the window, marvelling at all the ordinary everyday objects that I and so many others take for granted. Sadly, the physical shop is no more, but everything is online, as you can read about here: https://blog.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/about/about-alh/shop-history.html
I also enjoyed the analysis of the roots and meanings of 'left'.
Regarding marking and not being able to tick. When I was teaching I got fed up with ticks, so I bought a smiley face stamp and used that instead. Much better.
And thanks for the shout-out. I'm working on my reply to your letter now. I'm considering a more formal beginning than you adopted, perhaps on the lines of:
"Madam
I am disposed to refer to your epistle of the 1st inst, in which you provided me with a detailed account of your gaiters. I must insist, Madam, etc etc"
Yes, that should strike the right note...
Great story Rebecca! Interesting statistics on who is left-handed. Only one person in my family is left-handed. And it's not me. I never really thought about the problems lefty's would have with pockets on pants or jackets.
You made a lot of valid points. The left-hander is at a disadvantage on a lot of stuff. I just tried to write left-handed. I wrote my name and your name in print and cursive. It didn't go very well.
As far as the phone, as a right-hander, I always hold it in my right-hand. That's the way it seems more comfortable and I can hear people better. If I have write something down, I still hold it up to my right ear but with my left-hand so I can use my right-hand to write everything down.
It always amazes me that your lists are so detailed. Sometimes I wonder if you have any time to do anything else. Of course, you do but I would think this would take up a lot of time. Personally, for my grocery list, I just check the fridge and the cupboards to see what is gone and write it down the night before I go to the store.
My dad is also a lefty, so I appreciate some of the difficulties you have to deal with on a daily basis. He's told stories about how the nuns in Catholic school used to force him to write with his right hand as a kid. It didn't take. And it seems that a lot of interesting figures in history have also been lefties, making me wonder if all of that adaptiveness and creative problem solving isn't a secret (sinister?) super power... :-)
Scissors! Growing up, I thought all scissors were uncomfortable and unwieldy. I remember getting my first pair of left-handers. Revelation! I also managed to find a left-handed potato peeler and hand-held can opener and many other "gadgets" that made life easier for a cack-handed south paw. Thanks for drawing attention to this phenomenon, Rebecca. ( PS remember: Left-handed equals right-brained. Many artists, musicians, writers are left-handed)
Fascinating topic! I am a proud left-hander, but luckily (for convenience) I can do some tasks right handed.
Thanks for all the word lessons here, Rebecca, and for this wonderful post on left-handedness. My dad is a lefty, so we grew up a bit more attuned to the challenges for the rare ones of the world. I do have a couple of “left” ways of doing things because he taught me--I shoot a gun left handed (lots of hunting where I live, so I shot a gun at an early age--left finger on the trigger), and I discovered one day that I loop my shoelaces differently.
Of note--I never considered how words were written on a pencil, and ONE single back pocket?! That’s lunacy!
Also now we’ll need you to devote a post to this increíble fridge/freezer inventory method!
I come from a family of male left-handers. My father’s generation had their left-handedness trained out of them. As somone who struggles every day with how the world is laid out, I really resonated with this post. And whilst we try to meet it with good humour, it often does leave one feeling out at sea.
You know, as an inveterate right-hander, this way of seeing the world just doesn’t speak to me. The whole “this doesn’t work for me” vibe just feels off. And THAT must be how you feel. I’m gonna have to think about that one a bit.
Thanks for sharing, great post 😊 It’s not something I’ve thought much of, but isn’t that always the case when we sit with the privilege of the majority? So I learned a lot!
Also, that A4 sheet for meal planning...is that a template you can share?! 👀
There was a lot of controversy over King Charles' stroppy behaviour when the inkwell got in his way, at his official accession. I did think it was a bit harsh to be so upset with him. His mother had just died, he'd had the weight of at least a small bit of the world dumped upon his shoulders, he has terribly rheumatic hands, and after all, someone's only job was to set up a table where he could easily and comfortably sign the dreaded documents.
However.
What really made us smile was Prince William. Having watched his father get in a right two and eight about the fact that the inkwell was *in his way* he followed on with a distinct look of 'hold my beer - I'm left handed mate, everything's in my way permanently' and managed to sign the thing at a properly weird angle with nowhere on earth to put his elbow, and no fuss at all.
As a fellow left-hander, I could only chuckle and nod at things most take for granted while we lefties are "left" out in the cold. I suppose there is a silver lining in that I think being left-handed fosters adaptability that we can apply to almost anything. I feel your pain! :)
hell yesssss i feel seen! I've never thought about how stuff is more difficult though besides of course scissors, a big reason why I never got into any arts and crafts sort of stuff.
The biggest pain for me is the smudging. I like fountain pens and other pens with ink of wet repute. And as my dumb little hand scrawls across the page to keep up with my ideas, bam, everything is smudged. And I end up with the left side of my pinky all the way down the palm covered in said ink