Visit our online shop for your left-handed productsLefty Disadvantages
- Things Lefties Are maybe Not So Good At!
There are some things that we find more difficult because of our
brain wiring and others that are more practical issues.
Things left-handers find difficult
| Telephone boxes – receiver and coin slot on right | TV & Hi Fi controls |
| Record Player Arms | Writing |
| Scissors | Trousers with one back pocket |
| Trouser Zips | Polo (left-handed players not allowed!) |
| Hockey (left hand players not allowed in Field Hockey - Ice hockey is OK and there have been some very successful left-handed Ice Hockey players) |
Tying shoe laces/ties |
| Writing in binders/files | Cheque book stubs |
| Pens on chains in Banks | Cash dispensing machines |
| Ticker barriers on underground (ticket has to be put in with right hand) |
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| Computer number. keypads (on right) | Dining in restaurants (bump elbows with R/H diners) |
Medical equipment
Club member Michael is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician and tells us he has problems with right-handed equipment…
“My manual sphyg (blood-pressure cuff) can only be inflated with your right hand. (There are ambidextrous ones, but they are more expensive.) And I had problems learning to fit a cervical (neck) collar, until I discovered that they can only be pushed across with the right hand, not pulled with the left. Obviously, it would be completely impractical to equip hospitals and ambulances with both left and right handed equipment, but I can dream”
Handshakes?
It is traditional and socially acceptable in most countries for a handshake to be made with the right hand. If a lefty tries to use the more natural left hand this causes confusion and makes people uncomfortable
We understand that a left-handed handshake is used as a recognition device by some secret societies and has “sinister”
connotations (we can’t win can we?).
If anyone knows more about this or has any thoughts, please add a comment below.
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This is why I love scouts. Left handed handshakes
RE Field hockey comment….Hockey is made for lefties. You use your left hand to do a lot of stick skills and because I am a lefty my left hand is super strong so I am a great player because I can be dominant on the difficult side of the field. So ……you can take that one off the list!
A lot of this stuff really isn’t that hard for me to be honest.I think it’s because I have adapted to a world filled with right handed contrapations. The only thing I have a difficulty with is zippers to jackets. When I zip up my jacket it takes me like 10 minutes! God, being a lefty is hard sometimes. But I wouldn’t become right handed if I had the option, mostly because I think it’s cool to be apart of the 10% of the world who is left-handed.
I have problems with all of those but I cant help but to laugh at being left handed I wouldn’t change it for the world
Although I’m a lefty I understand why many cultures shake hands with the right. In Muslim societies there has always been a tradition of sharing food and many times people eat with their hands. So just to make sure everyone is remaining clean the tradition has always been to clean yourself in the restroom with your left hand and eat and shake hands with the right. I converted to Islam when I was 19 and had to learn to eat with my right hand because of this.
I don’t really have problems with the mouse thing, i adjusted to using it right handed. i use a knife with my right hand so i can eat with my left hand, and i use scissors right handed because i cut straighter like that. things that bother me are like tools, or butter knives. a lot of knives are serrated on the wrong side for left handed people…that bothers the crud outta me! i do find that i am a bit more creative than right handed people, and i am more inclined towards literature and reading. writing is a pain in the butt, i get the pen/pencil smeared on my had and the paper. also, writing on a chalkboard/markerboard sucks, i erase everything i write!
i don’t like how in the old days and still today even, being left handed was a sign of the devil or of evil.
We have trouble with computer mouses, and also turns out we all might be slightly brain damaged! I have to sit side ways at school when writing. But we have a more analytical mind so it comes in handy with GCSE English liturture and language
At school, when I write, the pen smudges everywhere. So does pencil. LOL, I’m the only leftie in my class and grade division. In the office, there are lists of which hand people wrote with on tests and stuff, and in total in our school (of 1233 students) there is only 2 left handers. Crazy, huh?
The keypad on the right side of the keyboard is actually rather useful. You can enter numbers with your right hand while still using the mouse with your left hand. Much more efficient.
Obviously, when they designed the keyboard the computer mouse didn’t exist yet, so this is an advantage that we got by accident!
Am I like the only left who has absolutely no problems with any of this? Well, except for can openers and bumping elbows with the girl I sit next to in Chem because we’re too lazy to switch spots. I don’t smudge when I’m writing (drawing is a different story) because I turn my paper sideways, which also gets rid of problems with binder/notebook rings. I use right handed scissors in my left hand without a problem. I use the computer mouse like any right-handed person would without difficulty, which also leaves me free for writing if I need to. I can shake hands comfortably with either hand, and I’ve even taught myself to eat with my right hand because I have to cut my steak with my left hand. People usually know where I need to sit at the table, but if I do get put on someone’s right side, it’s not really that big of an issue because I can tuck my elbows in or eat with my right hand, albeit a little awkwardly. And zippers? Really? You can’t pull it up with your right hand at all? Actually, I used to have trouble tying my shoe laces, but that was when I was like in kindergarten. And my right-handed sister even ties her shoes left handed. Long story short, I don’t see how so many lefties can have so much trouble with stuff I’ve been doing since I was a child. Then again, not all lefties are raise in a right handed family and taught to do things right handed. XD
When i have to hold something i usually hold it in my right and do what ever complicated thing with my left its so wierd
Actually… Regarding the right handed hand shake, Julius Cesar was left handed and made the right handed shake the norm so he could have his dominant hand free while he had the dominant hand of the man across from him in his grip, to prevent stabbings and things.
Left handed Napoleon instituted driving on the right side of the road for similar reasons, so he could fight anyone coming the opposite way with an advantage.
What I find annoying is the extra costs for buying something lefthanded or not being able to buy something because you are lefthanded ie. buying a guitar is probably the most difficult.I once had a shop owner tell me to learn to play right handed and then I wouldn’t have any problems getting what I wanted. Strangely I kick a ball with my right foot.
I found when using my mom’s (she is right handed) scissors in my left hand, I end up twisting my hand all the way around to cut! Does this happen a lot when using righty scissors?
I work as a pharmacy technician and it was REALLY hard when I first started counting medication! The counting trays are made for right handed people and my technique had to be modified. They do make left handed trays, but we didn’t have access to any. The way I have to count and push the pills across the tray would make everyone I work with stare at me! I was much slower at first, but I can count them just as quickly as everyone else now! It’s amazing once you think about it how much we have issues with! Another example, I break every hand operated can opener I have ever had. I twist it the wrong way until it just falls to pieces!LOL
I guess i have become so used to being in this right-handed world that my right hand has tended to take the lead on things except for things that require detail. I find this strange. I hate not being able to shake hands with my left hand and sitting on the right side of people either while eating or in a class that uses tables is a pain in the butt. I actually do wear my watch on my left hand though because it is more natural to look at my left arm than my right. I also dicovered that when playing basketball or percussion my right hand is way better than my left from people constantly saying to do things with your right hand. Does anyone else share these problems/tendencies?
OMG!!! I thought I was the only one. I got used to this right-handed world that I only write, eat and comb my hair with my left. I can’t even use a pair of scissors with my left hand. It just feels off. I brush my teeth with both hands. I tried using a left handed key board and mouse and it just wasn’t working for me. I guess I have just got accustomed to living in this right-handed world.
I’m left handed and have been since i first started writing but its not abnormal or anything where i live. its accepted, probably because we have SO many left handed people. Honestly, every third person i meet is left handed and we live on an island!
I dont know how i learnt to do EVERYTHING with my right hand except write. so im pretty much okay with the daily devices. I can write perfectly with my right as well.
If i even get tired writing in exams, ill just switch hands! so id say im glad im left handed and honestly dont see myself any differently than others.. So all the best to all those lefties out there who ARE having a hard time
There is only one thing I can’t get used to in this world thought for righties and that’s the combination of a chair and desk(don’t know how it’s called). Practically it’s a chair with an extended arm to form a small surface for writing. Of course it’s on the right side and I’ve never seen one for lefties. When I was young I needed two of them, next to each other, one to sit the other to write. If it’s possible to keep that “thing” folded at the side I prefer to put my books on my legs, otherwise I twist my body in order to write with the left and it’s very uncomfortable because the elbow remains hanging in the air.
im lefty! hahahha like reading all your comments about being left handed. i dont really use mouse anymore i prefer using laptop still, there i can freely use my left hand rather right.
I think i adopdt mostly items for right handed . but i dont likely to use knife really scares me because i’ve experience to wound my self using that knife.
Hellozz from India everyone.
One of the. biggest dis-advantage I feel in a daily basis is the use of nail-cutters .
And in my country being a left-hander is not usually greeted with a smile
Its been nearly a year since your comment but ahhh well hope you get it anyway…
Ive looked up on the internet how lefties are treated in different cultures, and in india and muslim cultures I know they don’t greet it with a smile like you said hahaha…
But don’t change it, its who you are! We are a special breed my friend, some of the biggest geniuses were left handed- einstein, leonardo da vinci, even BEETHOVEN. Tell that to someone next time if they tell you your left hand is bad, huh?
ANd don’t forget, its GENETIC. We are born with our hand, it has something to do with the way or brain is organised, and you can’t change it naturally. True righties will NEVER understand.
Keep doing what youre doing my friend!
for the lefties out there who r not so proud of who they are, heres a shocking fact. JUSTIN BEIBER is left handed!
and einestein (please excuse my bad spelling)
and julius ceasar
and BARACK OBAMA
and many many more of the famous ppl out there.
Plus reserach have proved that left handed people earn more money that right handed people.
I am soooooooooooooooooo celebrating left handers day on August 13th!
Be proud of who you are and never try to change!
Sincerly,
A proud lefty!
i am a learned lefty (not so much by choice). my right hand is not so useful anymore. biggest issue?? camera. i love pictures! but can’t take them because my right hand can’t do it anymore. can anyone tell me a really good reason why shutter releases can’t be on the left side?……or at least the center????
b/c it was designed by right handed people. welcome to the lefty world.
If a lefty initiates a handshake, they should offer their left hand. Right handed people should learn what it feels like to do something that wasn’t designed for them.
Totally agree!
Speaking as a lefty, (and being the only lefty I know) I do find it hard to wright and I will never
Have good notes. Right handed people (my sister) always laughs when I draw something and It
Turns out like a cloud because of the smudging.
If This happens to you when you do art, Just say: At least left us can draw unlike you righties!
Because the right side is naturally better then the left side
but that means that lefties think
With the better side of the brain! Suck it Right Hands!!!!!
Yeah!
Every english lesson we have a spelling test, so when were done we swap our notebooks with our partners and the teacher writes the corrcect spelling at the board, so the EVERY SINGLE time i mark a persons test they ask me LOADS of questions like how does it feel to be a lefty and they sometimes ask stupid questions like why do u write with your left hand?
Anyways. I’m a lefty and I’m proud!
BUT I don’t really think leftys r smarter cuz I’m TERRIBLE at maths TRUST ME.
I;m not so good at other things either!
People tend to forget that there are southpaws(another fun nickname for lefties) out there who need left-handed equippment as much as they do
I have the same problems! People in my class always ask me stupid questions like “Isnt it hard to write with your left hand?” or “How come you write like that?” I also suck at Math. I wonder if thats something all Lefty’s suffer from? I also wish that people made Left handed scissors Im terrible at cutting with the right handed ones.
In conclusion, I think all left-handed people should be proud of who they are. It makes us unique!
I am a lefty, but I have been able to adapt to just about anything right handed, especially the mouse, all’s it take is a little practice and determination, more natural lefty’s are ambidextrous, than natural right handed people, give it a try, and don’t ever give up!
you can actually change the buttons on your mouse to reverse the functions =)
It might be worth practicing…I actually find using the mouse with my right hand comes in handy at my job. So many times I’m using the computer AND writing things down. This way I’m able to do both very easily instead of constantly having to put my pen down to use the mouse, I just keep one in each hand
What really annoys me is when I carefully move up to three glasses from the right to the left side of my place setting in a restaurant and when the waiter refills my glass, he/she refills it and MOVES my glass to the right side. How annoying is that?!
I always thought the cutting buns problem was me!
My biggest gripe has to be scissors. I know there are left-handed ones but I know of no Ned Flanders store in town. Cutting hurts my hand to do.
As for using a computer mouse and shaking hands, I guess I am just so used to right-handers that it feels natural, but I get a cramp in my hands if I use a mouse for more than fifteen minutes straight (like playing Minecraft). Otherwise I just use the pad on my laptop.
Yes! The computer mouse is a real pet peeve of mine. I always make sure to replace a righties mouse after using their computers (usually I have just fixed something they have broken) but if they use my computer and the mouse is on the left? They let me know about it, like its my fault I didn’t think of them when I set the computer.
The bread knife thing is interesting, I’ve always been made fun of because of how I cut bread (thin at the top, thick at the bottom) Now I have a defense. And watches, oh my gosh don’t get me started. I was given an awesome wind up watch a few years ago and winding it up while it was on my wrist? No way!
Watch pockets in jeans are a real nuisance, they are always on the right side and my right hand is too stupid to use it with any confidence. I could go on for hours… cameras, my digital alarm clock (when I set it my hand is over the display and kind of need to contort my wrist to see what I’m doing) and can openers and …
My top annoyances: the computer mouse. It’s always on the wrong side. Especially at the public library, where the cord is permanently stuck on the RIGHT side and can’t be moved to the left.
Eating in a restaurant/formal setting is probably my worst complaint. How embarrassing to sit at a formal dinner, only to drink out of someone else’s glass, or to continually bump the elbow of the person sitting on my left, or to (dreaded fear) upset my plate due to using my clumsier right hand to pass food, etc. If people wanted to make my life easier, they’d put me on the far left side of the table – but of course that never happens.
Cameras are another thing I’d rather avoid than use and look clumsy/stupid. Ever use the camera with your left eye and try to press the shutter release with your LEFT hand, only to have the owner of the camera give you that unbelieving look?
Yeah. It’s annoying.
But you know? Being left-handed makes us tougher, lol! With all the hard knocks we survive …
I insist on having my pc mouse on the left – really annoys me when others use my desk at work & don’t replace it on my correct side. When using someone else’s computer, I make a point of always swapping others’ mice (mouse? Meeces?) back to the right when I’m done. However, they still have a right moan when they use my desk…now they know how us ‘deformees’ feel. Bah! *shakes left fist in the air*
And another thing…! Why didn’t anyone tell me to restring my guitar as a southpaw when I was a kid? Totally entrenched in the upside down, Hendrix-style now. Perhaps in hand position only, unfortunately!
Cameras always seem to have the shutter release on the wrong side. Only ambidextrous camera (well camcorder) I’ve seen is the Samsung QB10.
The subtlest one is the bread knife. Its blade is serrated on one side only. When we lefties cut a loaf it all goes badly wrong with diagonal slices or slices that are fatter at the bottom.
The next one is wrist watches. The start/stop/lap buttons on my stopwatch are on the wrong side. Wearing it on the right wrist just wasn’t ever thought of by the designer (the buttons could be configurable).
And finally computer mice. I’ve always used mine with the primary buttons the right-handed way and the mouse mat on the right of the keyboard. That was to avoid confusing my right-handed colleagues. The habit stuck until the days of the laptop with a trackpoint and a touchpad. But they are still predominantly right handed things.