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Being Left Handed

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Left handed life

Welcome to our lefty information section

We have built up a huge library of information about lefthanders and being left-handed over the past 50+ years and we are adding it all to this website so you can share it, add your own comments and advice and pass it on to others.

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Index page for all of our surveys on left-handedness with analysis of results
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This section - our pages about being left-handed. You can add comments to the pages and we will add relevant new material to our pages to keep them up to date.
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10 ESSENTIAL products every left-handed child needs

Left to Right, Right to Left: The Switch is On

Kate's Journey - update

Comments 132

  1. Greta J Franti
    As a decidedly left-handed individual, I advocate for and understand left-handedness and products designed for us. I unapologetically stock my home with left-handed tools, along with right-handed and non-handed tools. I speak out about the scissors thing. I installed my sink sprayer on the left side of the faucet.
    But I draw the line at 'backwards' calendars. Why promote the idea that left-handedness is necessarily 'backwards'? It is just not natural to read backwards is it? Are all books supposed to be offered in reverse lettering format as a left-handed reader's option? Are there really left-handers who cannot read text and numbering from left to right? I really am put off by the left-handed calendar offerings.
  2. Arina Yakupova
    Hello. I’m Arina Yakupova, a tv reporter from Russia. We are shooting a special reportage dedicated to the International day of left-handed people. We are looking for an expert to conduct an interview. What do you think of it?
  3. Sarah Satchell
    Hello, I am a Lefty, & have made several family crafts videos for Nottingham Central Library over the last lockdown year, using lefty scissors, one of your rulers, & showing my left hand drawing and cutting.
    They can be found on youtube: here are a couple,
    stick puppets
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5a2-X_Oq-Y&ab_channel=NottinghamCityLibraries
    box blue monster
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boNWdX4xK6M&ab_channel=NottinghamCityLibraries
    treasure box
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irRDG6pZNR4&ab_channel=NottinghamCityLibraries
    I hope you all enjoy these.
  4. Meredith
    Hi!
    My sewing scissors have been in heavy use since home mask-making became important. (I live in the USA where the medical supply chains are struggling.) The scissors started getting dull, so I researched sharpening options using what I already have at home. I ended up selecting option #3 here https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a30615104/how-to-sharpen-scissors/, cutting sandpaper.

    As far as I can tell, this made them more dull! I now have to put even more side pressure to make sure they cut, instead of bend the fabric, because, as many lefties do, I use righty scissors. I was thinking, perhaps since I was cutting the sandpaper lefty that sharpened the wrong part of the blade, making it worse. Have you all ever come across this? Do you have any thoughts on if this is possible?

    Next I tried cutting the sandpaper righty, but cannot tell if that helped, and was too annoyed to continue. haha
    Thank you for you thoughts!
    -Meredith
  5. Mrs. Lucille Burns
    Dear Donna,
    Re: your left-handed child--
    Make sure the paper is positioned parallel to the left arm when the lefty writes. [note-a right-hander positions the paper parallel to the right arm.
    My Father was left-handed [ a left-handed telegrapher, also, who was a railroad station agent] and went to my school when I started and made sure the teachers knew about me and that they were not to change a thing!!
    Love to Lefties, Lucille Burns[will be 90 years old next birthday]
  6. Anita
    I am from a family of six - 4 kids and parents. My parents and brother are righties, but my two sisters and I are left handed. Each of us is left handed to a different degree so to speak for while one of them is totally left handed, my youngest sister will use her right when using a knife. I am ambidextrous as I write and eat left handed, but throw balls and such with my right. I can use both for it, but generally use my right. I would like to get a lefty bowling ball and see how I do, because I really want the world to know I'm a proud lefty!

    Now I have three grown sons. One is a righty, the youngest is ambidextrous who chooses to be right handed, and my middle son who due to cerebral palsy which affects his left side is forced to be a righty. I say that because he's quite clumsy with his right hand and his penmanship is just like mine when I use my right hand.

    On both sides of our families, my husband's and mine, there are lefties. I'm the only one though, who slants my papers right and no one can tell by my writing that I am left handed unless I deliberately slant my letters. My penmanship is messy nowadays whatever hand I use, as I use the computer more than I use a pen.

    My sisters and I were never hassled by any teacher for being left handed - although my first grade teacher must have had a few things to mention to my parents as for the first few weeks of school, I wrote everything right to left. I still remember, 63 years later, my mother meeting my dad at the door when he got home from work and shoving my papers at him. "Look at this!" He looked and then said mystified, "Why did you do this?" Then even more so as he took a second look at them all, "HOW did you do this?" Makes me smile every time I think of it. Was just natural to me then. Apparently, my sisters never displayed that feat.

    When my niece told me her youngest was going to be a lefty, I was so thrilled! Told her not to make a big deal of it as if he was disabled, just let him be. Encourage him and help him - I directed her to this site at the time - plus I'd started my own site to encourage lefties to be proud of it and embrace it, not look at it like a curse or disability, and to inform righties who live with lefties to be supportive and not discourage their kids or other relatives as if they're doing something "wrong".

    I love being a lefty. My sisters are comfortable being lefties and wouldn't change it. I believe that's because our parents and our teachers were smart enough to let us be who we were. We hadn't a clue we were "different" until much later on when we were old enough not to care what others thought. I don't recall anyone ever making remarks about having to eat beside any of us. I kept my elbows in if I had to sit in the middle at a large gathering and all went well. I do sit at the end of a table if I can get to that seat first though. :)

    One summer, when a friend and I were unemployed, having been laid off and wanted to stay that way for a few weeks) we found a few places who reluctantly turned us away as their machines could accommodate only right handers. We cheerfully reported that fact back to the people at the unemployment office and enjoyed our summer off. Eventually, we were called back to our original jobs - where we wanted to be anyway.

    Love being Lefty!
  7. Ferlin
    Re: Widdershins
    This term comes from a form of paganism (wicca), and was co-opted by witch hunting christians. It simply means to perform ritual dancing in a counter clockwise circle, rather than clockwise, which is known as deosil.

    That being said, as an auto racing fan I know that circle track racing is almost always a widdershins sport, hence the saying "Go fast - turn left".
  8. Joe Lawson
    IN RE: allergies and left-handers -- I'm a 69 year-old male lefty. While I have mild allergy symptoms during the Spring and Fall seasons, I don't usually suffer from other common allergens including Poison Oak/Ivy or foods. I've had a few small outbreaks in the past of eczema and psoriasis which were cleared up by mild steroid cream. I've suffered a nuisance level from Familial/Essential Tremor my entire life. My major genealogy is 53% West European, 25% Ireland, and basically 7% each Scandinavian, Great Britain and "other."
  9. jim
    Hi,left handed and proud,can any one tell me why you mount a horse on the left side putting your left foot in the stirrup and holding the sadle with your left hand to get on the horse lol.
    1. Anita
      Goes back to the earliest days when soldiers used horses for war and wore their swords at their left side, so they could draw them out with their right hand. If they were to mount from the right, the sword would've been in the way.

      I mounted my horses from both the left and the right. Partly because I wanted to be able to do that and wanted my horses to be good with my getting on either side, because occasionally I'd find myself in a situation where mounting from the left just wasn't gonna be easy or even possible. And partly because Native Americans mounted from the right. I'm of Native descent, so like being a proud lefty, I'm proud of that as well.
  10. Barry Heath
    Hi guys;
    After many years of suffering 'orthodox' scissors, pens and similar, I found, during a spell in the USA, that left-handed implements are almost Federally mandated under their equality legislation, but in this country we're still slightly freaky. I was therefore pleased to find you. I've ordered both GP scissors and nail scissors in the expectation of finally being able cut my nails without contorting my hands and feet.
    I also looked at your kitchen knifes, and I have to disagree with your premise that a knife must be ground or serrated on the right to be useful for a left-hander. I have owned for many years a set of Tesco Professional kitchen knives - beautiful knives, high quality MnVaCr stainless steel that hold a wonderful edge. The bread knife is ground with right hand serration, and it is a *nightmare* to use. The right-hand serration causes the knife to slide to the left when cutting the left hand 'end' of the loaf, meaning that the slice is never parallel faces, but tapers to nothing at the bottom. It's the same effect when slicing meat. The serration, and the grind, to my mind need to be on the left, so that the slice is pushed away from the body of the piece. and the flat edge of the blade move straight against the bulk.
    There again, I've always been an awkward so-and-so, so maybe it's just me doing it wrong again.
    I'd b interested to hear your thoughts.
    1. jim
      Hi,we used to have a kitchen shop in town selling knifes ect,the wife bought a knife for cutting cheese,but could not use it as it did not cut strait.I had a look at it and found it was for left handed use,this was ideal for me being left handed.So I ask her to get another one,but the shop had sent them back saying they were faulty,some people just do not know what they are selling
      ps the wife is right handed.
  11. Jane Minto
    Brooms and mops have a handle that screws into the brush or mop head. I find, as a lefty I unscrew the head when using them, rather than tightening it as a righty would. Any suggestions?
  12. Donna
    Can anyone Help? I have a 7 yr old son who for a while wrote with either hand but in the last 2 yrs he has been left handed, I'm always being pulled aside and told my son's handwriting is not good enough ( which can be quite upsetting for both of us ) even though he is having trouble with his handwriting his teacher is still adding the pressure of joint up writing, which he is finding very hard. Is there anyone out there that can suggest anything.
    Thanks
    1. john proud
      G'day i'm 75 when a child the pen was tied to my right hand and forced to right handed now I right both hands or backwards or upside down or both hands at the same time have him find a style that is easy for him to right weather leaning left or right or straight up and down he can change later
    2. Dr Billy Levin
      See an expert neurologist who will explain everything about being left handed including why the writing is not good,
  13. Vanessa
    Hi I'm interested in your site.it has be a huge eye opener for me. It helped me better understand my daughter. I had a feeling she was left handed but here in Canada the teachers don't always listen. So as her mom I have searched every where for a place to buy items for her to help her learn and develop her skills. She is in grade 1. I just do not see what the actual cost would be as I am in Canada. If you could help me that would be greatly appreciated.I really would like to help her learn..she gets so upset as she is the only one left in our family that is left handed. My late husband her dad was the lefty of the house and the one that was to teach her the things she needs. I'm doing my best to self teach myself how to do things with my left so I can teach her.
    Thank you in advance
    Sincerely
    Vanessa
    1. Marlene K. Goodman
      I am so lefty and I tell people I am in my right mind. I have discovered your site and just learned that you are based in the UK. I am in America so we use $ instead of £. Is there an American based website for lefties? Regarding your left handed daughter- let her know that lefties tend to be more creative, inventive, talented in the arts and “right minded”. (She won’t understand that till she’s older).
      I am an artist and I like music & humor writing and I am a creative problem solver. Perhaps you can encourage creativity in your daughter- do creative things with her. Being a lefty is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I am proud to be a lefty and I’m in my right mind.
  14. B
    Do all left handers eat with their left hand?I do, and I wanted to know if they teach themselves to use their right hand when they go to foreign countries where it's disrespectful to eat with the left hand.
    1. Suzie gallagher
      I was made to eat right handed at school, as i would nudge people if i ate left handed. (apparently). So now with knife and fork i eat right handed, just spoon obviously left. But my 3 right handed children eat left handed.??!!
  15. Terry
    Why is it that in the video for the calendar the person giving the demonstration is right-handed?
    Wouldn't you want to promote the item by having a lefty take the item out of its box, set it up, turn the pages, etc.
    Clearly, this guy is right-handed.
    I am disappointed in the choice you've made.
  16. richard bamsey
    I was at art college in the 60's and they thourght they would teach us all calligraphy, half of us were LH so they gave up. If you want to comment by the way spelling is not something some of us are good at, we get by, without the spell checker I might say selibrate.
    Love Spud
  17. Scottie
    I was lucky to be born to a left-handed mother, who had first hand knowledge of what happens when a child is forced to be right-handed. One of her brothers was left-handed and was forced to change. My mother said that it changed his moods and made him more sullen. Her mother wouldn't let them change her, but she did change the way she faced the paper she would be writing on. She developed the upside-down writing style of most left-handers. I, for one, face the paper in the direction that a left-handed person should, so I don't have that smudge. But, I did have to learn to use items that were designed for right-handed people and used them left-handed. But, I am glad there is a place that offers products for left-handed people. Hurrah for all left-handers.
  18. Barry Whiting
    Having been in the voluntary sector for many years supporting parents of children with special educational needs, I am amaized that lefthandedness is not taken more notice of in schools. My expertise is with dyslexia but my experience has shown that being an unrecognised (or ignored) lefthander can be just as much a disability as dyslexia. The same self esteem issues apply and the failure to reach potential can be the same. Do keep looking for unrecognised lh and continue spreading the word. That lefthanded child, once lh is recognised, could go on to be someone important. Be proud that you helped rather than one who walked by on the other side!
    1. Rachel Breakspear
      Barry Whiting : I absolutely agree ! I think education is outdated and over powered by one particular teaching professional who's made a fortune from selling her educational books. I think far too much thinking power is wasted mulling over teaching and learning strategies and styles that are not scientifically proven, although the V A R.K learning styles is a good theory, sadly that's all it is, just a theory. What science knowns is simply this we lefties think using a different side of our brains to right handed people however, no dought the majority of teachers in our schools are right handers, unknowingly imposing their very own preferred right handed learning style on their unsuspecting left handed pupils. This applies to all teachers regardless of the hand they use, fact is our children will never be equals in the classroom because let's face it, what are the chances the teacher is ambidextrous ? Pretty slim I'd say. One will always excel above the other depending on their teacher until we make education listen and stop pushing the issue under the carpet. We are supposed to be a nation that embraces equality and celebrates diversity and education is meant to be accessible to all, not to us it ain't
  19. Sven T
    Hello. I'm Sven.
    I am 53 years old and a leftie.
    This month's discovery:
    Cling foil and aluminium rolls are designed for right hand use.
    If You tear it off with a back hand twist as a leftie it will work so much easier.
  20. Inara
    Hi guys! I feel so trapped as I am always stuck in a society of right handed people, I got the new left handed writing pad and it's much more easier I really felt more comfortable, I don't know how I'm left handed since no one in my family is
  21. Gabrelle
    I CAN DO IT TOO!!!!! Although it freaked out my teachers, i was 10 and i unconsciously did it in an exam.
  22. Sue R
    I am from a right-handed family; and my handwriting at eleven years old was dreadful; then, moving schools, I found 8 of us in class of 24 were left-handed. THIS school insisted that we all used left-handed nibs; and gave details of your store in Beak Street. My handwriting instantly improved! I was also able to have the paper upright on the desk, in front of me.Later, working in Central London, I visited the shop and stocked the kitchen with left-handed scissors. I also have left-handed rulers.Within the last two days, I have given the address of this website to two parents, with pre-teen lefties ... who are 'finding it difficult' to write clearly. My sister has also been recommending your starter pack to the parent of a small child. She only knew about the web-site because I had been to the shop.The only thing which I do right-handed is to eat with a knife and fork: it was too late to change this habit, by the time I heard of you.
  23. Robin
    So my dad told me that when I started kindergarten when I was little. The people working there told him that they thought that I was retarded cause I couldn't use the scissors correctly and so on... So then he asked them if the knew that I was left-handed. And the answer is ofc: "No!". And this was around 1998-2000.And one funny thing is that im still the only left-handed person in my class, people still ask me today if I'm left-handed.
  24. augusto
    Hi, I write because I like to sale their products in Argentina .i Need to know the price for large purchases and how long to get these products in my Countrythanks
  25. Lynne Tootill
    I am a left handed textiles teacher.. Has anyone ever noticed that to thread a sewing machine you can thread it much more easily if you are left handed.. I wonder if the inventor was a lefty.
    When I point this out to my students the right handers complain that a right handed sewing machine need to be available.
    The left handers just smile knowingly...
  26. CheekyGee
    I am the only left hander in my family. Both of my siblings and mother are right handers. My dad was ambi-dexterous. I was also born a dislocated left leg and remained dislocated for over 3 months after non-stop specialists in figuring out what to do with my dislocated left leg due to fear of delay in walking. This same fear was implanted in my parents' mind who are both in the same medical field as nurses - LOL! One morning, my dad had the idea of pinching my left leg in the midst of a nappy change and I apparently kicked hard enough to pop my left leg back into place. To prove the specialists are wrong of their fear, I was walking unassisted before my first birthday. As an adult, I have a party trick of dislocating my left leg and kicking it back into place with no pain at all.Left handers have to be adaptable in a right handed pre-dominate world - as if we have any choice in it anyway. I am grateful that no one even attempted to try and change my leftiness. In fact, my dad taught and encouraged me to embrace it wholeheartedly without prejudice. Everyone is different in their own way - left or right handed.As a left hander, I have experienced "accidents" on my right side (non-dominate side) such as my motorbike and car accident, and minor sport injuries - thank god no broken bones yet!.But growing up in right handed dominate society, people do have the tendency to be fascinated, admire or hate you either way even if you are left or right handed. I guess, it really comes back down to people's understanding and tolerance.So cheers to my fellow left handers.
  27. MLK
    I need help for my 6 years old son. He is left handed and has just started primary school.
    I need suggestions about orginazing his table and need some tips to help his writing skills.
    1. Dr Billy Levin
      Email me for information.I advise on in the UK and in USA.
    2. Dr Billy Levin
      email me on adders.org in the UK or allaxperts.org in the USA.
  28. Wu
    Being proud of being a lefty is not good. I warn you all. Pride destroys my life with my love and relationship. To the point, left hand controls the right brain and emotion. I shouted at my boyfriend. I was easy to get angry. I destroy my love and relationship. Now I cry everynight and regret. I want to turn back the time and fix. God please give mercy. I want my love one back.
  29. Mario
    If someone was right handed, and willfully became left handed through practice, would this cause the same psychological problems that seem to plague those who were forced to switch their dominant hand? If anyone has done this, let me know if you experienced any of those symptoms... Thanks!!!
  30. ian stephens
    hi to everybody out there it's right handed world ha ha and us lefty's get some bad press myself i find this world hard place to live in being left handed but i have learnt to adapt to everyday life in my job and at home.Only one question i have got is i play guitar and when i started learning tried to play left handed switched the strings around but my brain couldn't understand it so i learnt to play right handed.So if anybody out there can answer my question it would be helpful many thanks .
  31. Julian
    I'm left handed, I eat, write, paint, do daily activities lefty. However for all sports I play right dominant I don't know why but I'd like to attribute it to the fact that all of my immediate family is right handed and growing up they always taught me sports as they knew it. Go lefties!
  32. Elaine
    I love being a leftie. That's the way God intended. I have a twin (not identical) and she is also a leftie. I crochet left handed. I tried it right handed, but it didn't work.
  33. Alice*
    Hello! Alice isn't my real name, by the way. In our family, most of us are left-handed. Only my mom is not. My brother is left-handed, but he uses his right hand when writing. This is because my mom taught him to write with the right hand in kindergarten. My mom tried to teach me, but then she stopped because I was insistent in using my left hand. I don't have a lot of problems regarding my handwriting, but I find it annoying when there are pen marks on my hand after writing, and I hate using spiral notebooks. There's no left-handed stuff for sale at our place, so I can't do anything about it. I don't have a problem with seating arrangements. I can sit anywhere I like, even next to right-handed people at cafeterias. My right-handed seatmates, on the other hand, find it hard to adjust. But the problem is, when eating at home, I sit beside my brother, and he has huge arms. And even if he's left-handed, we would occasionally fight over dinner then I would move a few inches away from him. Using utensils is easy for me. I have no problem with using a right-handed chair in class because I'm used to it. But using scissors and knives for paring has been a pain for me. I'm really bad at sewing and learning to crochet. At school, it was fun being a southpaw since most of my classmates are right-handed. I don't get upset when they comment on me being a lefty and my even weirder way of holding a pen. I don't hold a pen like most people, even my left-handed friends. But I'm not insecure about it because I have a neat penmanship. They would try to write using their left hand and I would get amused while watching them do it. I have studied in a Catholic school since kindergarten, but left-handers are not being maltreated in any way. But there was one time in 5th grade that we have to adapt to a style in holding a pen whether you're right or left-handed, and I had a hard time adapting to it because of my unusual style in pen-holding. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Then in high school, teachers and classmates would praise me because I was good in Math and English, and my friends would usually tell me I'm good at drawing. I was one of the youngest in our class, and there was only one other person aside from me who is a lefty. At the time we only had one left-handed chair in the room. We would always argue about it, but I would let him use it because I didn't really need it. I have heard that right-handed people are good at scientific stuff, and left-handed people are artistically inclined. But I think I'm better at scientific thinking than creativity. We had an IQ test once and I scored a high rating. I love anything related to facts and logic. Yet I also like to daydream and imagine all sorts of things. I read that left-handed people are good at sports, but I'm not really good at any sports at all because I'm more inclined to indoor games like Scrabble. But when I participate in sports, I don't find it hard to use right-handed equipment. I used to play badminton, but then I quit because a lump grew on my left arm. Until now, it's still there and my left hand gets tired easily when doing or writing stuff. Left-handed people adjust more easily to seeing underwater? I usually close my eyes when swimming because I don't like the thought of water getting into my eyes. I'm good at multitasking. I like doing things one at a time because I get stressed out when I'm not. I'm quite forgetful. My brother is better at playing video games than me. And I'm a slow typist. That's all!
  34. Stewart
    Left handed since birth. But also left eyed, ( the other has never worked). So, left handed by nature... or left handed out of physical necessity?
  35. Carol
    I'm curious if left-handed people tend to favor their left side when sleeping, and also if when they slip or fall, they tend to fall on the left side.? When I was 8 years old, and already knew I was left handed I got my first bicycle without training wheels. I took off down the street, hit some dirt in a driveway and fell and broke my left arm! I still love bicycling despite that first experience. When my arm healed & the cast came off, ironically about 2 weeks after it was removed, I fell again on a slippery boat dock in our backyard, and again fell on my left side, this time cracking my left wrist! I learned my lesson and have not broken anymore bones during my life and I am now 58. Yet I still bruise my left side whenever I slip, most often when downhill skiing. Is this just me? And I also favor sleeping on my left side, although I toss & turn for a few hours before I get comfy. Thanks for any comments. Cjmellow(Carol)
  36. jane
    I love being a leftie. As far as I know, I am the only leftie in my family. My son is right handed, and I must say, I found it difficult when he was younger to help to teach him to write. Other than that I have adapted pretty well to the world geared in favour of the right hand. And I was lucky, no one ever tried to change me. I sometimes get strange reactions from people though when they realise I'm left handed, and that includes people apologising to me for me being a leftie....really!!!??? why apologise!!!??? I find that reaction, in particular, really hilarious.....
  37. sheri
    i would like to know if mirror writing has anything to do with being left handed
    1. Louise
      Hi Sheri,
      It probably does. I am left-handed and some time ago, in moment of boredom, I started writing from right to left (aka mirror writing) in a reasonably legible way. Needless to say it freaked me out, in a panic I phoned a psychiatrist and explained what had happened, fully expecting to be told to make an appointment because I was, indeed, going crazy. Instead he asked me if I was left-handed, which threw me until he explained that our [left-handed] brains want to work from right to left and not to worry, it was a completely natural thing to do. What a relief!
      I am curious as to why you ask - can you right from right to left too?
  38. Becky
    hi im becky and im only young (15) but i find being a left handed person very challenging. in my school im not sure if anyone else understands but in P.E. when they explain/show how to do something i cant understand it because its the opposite of me. i also take art so the left handed scissors and the pen are very helpful and im the happiest person on earth because i found this website

    thank you anythinglefthanded.co.uk :D

    #leftpower
    1. Debbi
      My grandmother was the main support I got to "remain a south-paw". She sat opposite from me, at age 5 all thru her life,and had me copy her hand movements for crochet, sewing, embroidery, cooking,& so on... I understand your frustration about society not getting it. Winning a fight with my 3rd grade teacher on the position of my paper to learn cursive resulting in me not writing almost upside down. But being a select group, we get all equipment(golf clubs, scissors, etc) at a much higher cost.
  39. Peter
    Hello my fellow lefties.

    Fun fact: In Kenya it's disrespectful to give someone a gift with your left hand.

    We may only be 10% but considering there are 7 some billion people on earth - there's over 700 million of us ;)

    #leftpower
  40. Eliza
    I'm a righty, however I have brushed my teeth with my left hand for almost as long as I can remember (my logic as a 4-or-5-year-old was that the sink counter was too high for me to reach, so it was best for me to hold my cup of water with my steadier [right] hand), thus, I taught myself to brush my teeth left-handed, and ever since, I can no longer brush right handed. (Oddly, my dad thinks this is an amazing feat as he claims this is supposedly hard to do with your non-dominant hand.)

    I also pour things with my left hand (the fridge door was on the right, freezer door on the left), so I would open the fridge with my right hand and grab the milk with my left, then precede to pour said milk with my left hand. I'm able to pour things right-handed, though I find this awkward.
    I've taught myself to write fairly legibly with my left hand, and I find it fun to write with my left hand.

    When I clasp my hands together, my left thumb is on top.

    I think I hold a tennis or badminton racket left-handed if I wanted to, because I did this a little when I was a kid and broke my right arm.

    In phys-Ed, I would stand in Southpaw stance naturally, because it was kind of similar to how my dad taught me how to stand when throwing a baseball.
    1. Ron
      Oh? It's called "Cross-dominant". It's a special case that only certain persons have. It means you do some things on the left hand and on the right. I'm actually a leftie but I do almost everything in both hands.
  41. Nabeal
    my last comments make me think that there should be a survey..
    With Gods grace, I have been a stronger person then any other ordinary person, even as a kid. I don't I was the strongest thought I was in my school, specially being very thin I use to beat all kids in arm wrestling. why I am talking about in childhood time coz at that time its more raw power as after growing up people workout and all.
    So may b lefties are physically stronger then righties.

    So my question is how many lefties think they were/are among the stronger kids in the school compared to their body type?
    1. Emily
      That's the same with me I'm really tall but skinny with no muscles whatsoever yet I can beat most of my friends in arm wrestles.
    2. Ron
      Yeah. I actually beat all of my rightie mates in arm wresting, and MATH!
  42. Nabeal
    Love being Left handed in the right handed world. There are some disadvantages but I guess we all have learnt while growing up and now its usual.
    What I love about being lefty is my right hand is similarly strong as my left, and when ever I use to beat my collage mates in arm wrestling, all I used to say was:
    "dude I am a lefty and still I beat u with my right." haha..
  43. CAROLYN DALY
    WHY NOT DO A STUDY ON IDENTICAL TWINS. USUALLY ONE IS LEFT HANDED (ME) AND THE OTHER RIGHT HANDED SINCE THEY ARE MIRROR TWINS. I CAN USE EITHER HAND SINCE I WORKED AS A KID TO DO IT, EVEN USING RIGHT HANDED SISSORS WITH EITHER HAND. WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THE OTHER LEFTY TWINS WORKED TO USE EITHER HAND. I WOULD WRITE WITH EITHER HAND ON BLACKBOARD AT SCHOOL. HARDER TO USE RIGHT HAND TO WRITE ON PAPER BUT CAN DO IT. I JUST FOUND IT AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE AS A KID. MY TWIN IS TOTALLY RIGHT HANDED AND NEVER WORKED TO USE EITHER HAND.
  44. Betsy Priest
    Being left-handed to me is an honor. I'm the only one from the maternal or paternal side in this generation to be left-handed. It's amazing what the gene pool produces. My daughter is right-handed. Both my grandmothers sewed and did needlework and taught me the basics despite the difference in handedness. When I discovered I was good at sewing and needlework, I taught myself, using good old right handed equipment! A sewing machine is a right-handed piece of equipment, also. I just learned to load the bobbin and thread right-handed and went about my work. I used right-handed scissors and to this day cannot use leftie scissors! Irons were also right-handed, with the plug coming out of the iron in such a way that I had to turn the ironing board around with the wide end on my left and ironed backwards. A good friend (right-handed, of course), showed me the basics of cross stitch, hooking and needlepoint, and I taught myself from there. My biggest disappointment is not being able to learn to crochet. Both grandmothers did but passed before they could show me. I have had people sit in front of me to mimic left-handedness and how tried the tutorials on the web. What I make looks nothing like theirs! I love being left-handed and never let it stop me from doing whatever I want. My husband, however, does not like the way I put tissue paper on the roll. I don't have any problems............. he does!
  45. AM
    My boyfriend and I are both left handing. But we still live in a very right handed product house. lol. Live in a very small town 5 hrs away for any city center. Knives are a problem....buggers are slanted the wrong way so the knife always slips. I am the only lefty in my family, and I used to love to bake with my grandmother, but she would always take over my task like stirring because I "looked akward". Apparently I also used to write from right to left. I have been running a chainsaw for years as well and my supervisor always says I look funny doing it. I approach everything from the opposite side. But I don't write on paper like most lefties that curl their hands over or 'write upside down', I figured out a way to do it so i would stop getting ink all over my hand. Fun times. Sometimes I laugh about some of this stuff.
  46. TBetts
    I am a left handed person. My mother said they made me write right handed when I was young and I did but switched back. The wired thing about my situation is I'm a hairstylist and I cut right handed but hold my clippers in my left hand! As for annoying things lefties have to work with to me is spiral notebooks! Also the old fashioned desks they used to make that was for right handed people!
  47. J STEPHENS
    Both my husband and myself are natural left handed but in school many many years ago we were not allowed to use our left hands yet I seem to gravitate to some things with my left just naturally.
    One day he said to me. Honey, do you realize you eat half your meal left handed and the rest right, going back and forth?" I did no realize it
    He learned to have a beautiful handwriting but it was forced from the right side. And then he learned to write with either hand and both beautiful penmanship.
    I have been trying lately to write better with my left hand and I just know I am left handed person that was thrown into a right handed world.
    I did play tennis left handed and baseball left handed when I was a kid. Now at 70, I cook and bake more with my left hand. It is just the writing that is so messy
    How I wish you had been around when we were young. We were both forced to keep our left hand behind us or under us and would be in trouble when we did things left handed.
    so happy for young people today that left handed tools are out there and schools accept us for who we are. Thanks for the wonderful service you provide
  48. rick
    my son tried to work left handed for a day and said he almost lost his job!!
  49. rick
    Is Shania Twain left handed
  50. nikkolina
    oh and not to mention the only one out of my six sibblings that is a lefty, and i'm also a twin and my twin is a rightie...
  51. nikkolina
    im a lefty but the only thing i do right handed is play the guiter...im proud to be a lefty because im COOL LIKE THAT:)
  52. Samantha
    Happy Left Handers Day fellow Leftys!
    You know what would make this day truly amazing? If those right handers would understand.

    Today was supposed to be a great lefty day, right?
    Well, I tried.
    I was trying to celebrate this awesome day by trying to make my brothers fit into my shoes-er, if thats the saying.
    Anyway, I made my older brother cut with right handed scissors (you know, the "normal" scissors) in his left hand, then his right. Then I explained the different cutting motion, and the reversed blades, which he didnt understand. Of course.
    I showed him this website's valuable info on lefty scissors, and showed him your lefty scissors video clip. He didn't get how the scissors made such a difference in either hand. Well, what do you expect from a right hander sometimes :-( ?
    My other brother said "Leftys aren't so special, you know."
    Then my older wanted me to cut a circle right now. So I did my best, and he was like "Thats not how you do it. You're exagerating." Little did he know about lefties! I got so made at both their little "wise mouth" comments about leftys. I'm sick of those comments! Once he called leftys freaks!!!!!!!!! My friend called left handers an "endangered species."
    Well, I'm the only lefty in my immediate family...what else is new for us leftys.
    I love being left handed...but why don't people understand us?
    Hopefully my little story was helpful. Though I don;t know how it would be. Well then I hope you cant relate to my story, why would you want to? It's a bad story of what happened today. I also got in trouble for waking up my little brother by saying "Happy Left Handers Day!"
    Check out the video called "Being Left Handed Sucks" on Youtube. I dislike the name... but the video is so true! It is by CallMeBrobles.
    So...Happy Left Handers Day, guys.
    Enjoy the rest of Our Day.
    -Sam
  53. sophie
    I'm almost 19 and a complete leftie! I never managed to play hockey because it wasn't logical for me to hold the stick backwards. throughout school and college I've always been the centre of the left-handed attention, this is because i write almost weird, right handers tell me it's upside down! Left handed scissors were almost like the lock ness monster! people have heard of them, and some people believe to have seen it, but I never had the use of them. Even now I still have the cutting ability of a much younger person than myself. it annoys me that I was taught to use a computer mouse with my right-hand because they presumed everyone was. although, when I use a laptop I will use my left-hand.
    When it comes to eating, I hold my fork in my left-hand which is right-handed! But using a spoon or a fork alone, I will always use my left hand. Sometimes, I actually forget which hand I hold my cutlery. I can never use tin openers which is very frustrating as i always have to ask someone for me! A strange, I hope it's not me, but I can't use nail scissors because they only seem to do them right-handed. It was only until recently I started using nail clippers! It was so embarrassing asking my mum to cut my toes still!

    I have also struggled learning to play an instrument because everyone shows me backwards, it gets a disheartening after a while. I can't get on with notepads with spiral chords or chains because of the way I write! Very discriminative! I worked in a kitchen for 4 years so I learnt to adapt by peeling away from me but it would be nicer to do things properly!

    we are obviously more intelligent than right-handers, as we learn to do things twice! Rather than doing things the easy way! I have found I'm good at working out a problem by myself and I can multi-task well!
  54. Big Steve
    56yo left hander - I can only write with my left hand and prefer to use most tools left-handed as well. Played hockey at primary school so adapted early to RH for sports. As for eating, I have always used a knife and fork the conventional way round - this makes sense to me, as it is the left hand that delivers the food to the mouth. (it can get messy if I do it the other way round!). I always use a spoon with my left hand as well, for the same reason. What does become a problem is when desserts are served up with a spoon and fork - I want to use both in the same hand - Very confusing even now!
    Never had a problem with most RH scissors, unless the handles are moulded at an angle. In general I just wish the manufacturers would make the thumb-holes a bit bigger - scissors are not just for children and women!
  55. noel elliott
    as a left handed person,i must be unique as i have have never had any one commenting on me being a leftie,from school up to now,i am from a family of 8,and two of us are lefties,the things people commente don like opening and peeling things,but as i say no one has commented on me being a leftie,from what ive seen its us lefties that notice someone else is left handed.
  56. Jennifer Hayes
    Being a total leftie, there are several things that get my goat. I play computer games a lot and have to switch my mouse buttons to play them. There are several games which will not allow this option, so I can't play them. Also, why do numerical keyboards (even the so called left-handed ones) have their numbers 1 2 3 instead of 3 2 1... I still can't use them. I wrote mirror writing till I was about 9 years old so, very left handed! :D
  57. Priscilla Nichols
    I grew up as a lefty not knowing any lefties anywhere in my family. I finally now have a left-handed granddaughter. When my grandma taught me to sew, she'd complain because I'd chew up fabric when I tried to cut it. It finally occurred to her that it might be because I'm left-handed. She bought me a pair of left-handed scissors. This was in the 60's. I presuming it wasn't easy for her to find them! Anyway, that
    took care of the problem. I was no longer chewing up the fabric!
  58. Jim Story
    66 yr old lefty. My Great grandmother who died at 89 back in 1959 couldn't remember anyone in the family being a lefty. Growing up in a "right handed" world did do one thing for me, I'm ambidexterous. (Though not a good speller). Almost anything I do I can use either hand even though there are some strictly left handed things. The most important one is eating... If I ever break my left arm I'll starve to death.....I do a lot of mechanical things and it amazes people when I change a wrench from hand to hand and back... Lefties will understand.. It's a left handed thing......
  59. Lesley
    I am left handed and have never given it a great deal of thought! I have learned to get on with it! Tin openers are a pain as are potato peelers but as the only left handed person in my family I adapted. Peeling potatoes away from me, cutting out dresses adding a bit more seam allowance! The list goes on!!! The best feeling is playing sport, especially tennis! Right handlers hate us because we are difficult to play against and as for rounders..........
  60. Jim Crutchfield
    What gets /me/ indignant is the way manufacturers and vendors get away with selling right-handed scissors as "ambidextrous" or "designed for right- or left-handed use", just because they have handles that lefties can use without acute pain. It's false and discriminatory, and I'm confident that it causes a lot of lefties, who don't understand how scissors work, to waste money on scissors that won't work properly for them, and to believe that the poor results they get with them are simply universal, or their own fault.

    Even manufacturers that offer a few true left-handed scissors, such as Fiskars, also sell these fake "left-or-right" products, which presumably fool enough lefties for the manufacturers to feel little or no pressure to offer true left-handed versions of many of their most useful products, such as kitchen shears and shop shears.

    I've been writing to manufacturers, pointing out this discrimination and asking them to offer true left-handed versions of their right-handed products, and one or two have actually responded positively--though of course they've made no promises. I encourage all my fellow lefties to do the same. Perhaps the Left Handers Club could organize a co-ordinated effort?
    1. Samantha
      I strongly agree with you.
      "Designed for right or left handed use" by Fiskars is a total LIE. I cannot even believe they say that!
      I've never had true lefty scissors. Anyone know where they are cheapest to get? (I'm thinking Wal-mart... :-P )
  61. Jim Crutchfield
    As a lefty who plays the guitar, I sympathize with Karl, but I think his indignation is misplaced. Jamie Anderson's reasons are all good and all true. They may not be sufficient, but that's a matter of opinion. They would best be answered by another list of reasons why a left-handed persons should get a left-handed guitar, not cries of "discrimination!".

    I play right-handed for many reasons, including several of the ones Ms. Anderson gives, but mainly because I started out on the five-string banjo as a teenager. Left-handed five-string banjos are (or were in the 1970s) rare and extremely expensive, and my family couldn't even afford a good right-handed one for me. I learned to play on a cheap, right-handed, department-store instrument, but it was better than nothing, which is what I'd have had if I'd insisted on a left-handed instrument.

    When I decided to take up the guitar, I was well into my thirties, and I decided I was too old to retrain my hands for left-handed playing, so I got a right-handed guitar. That may have been a mistake, but it definitely made it easier for me to reach a minimal level of competence with the instrument.

    I've never gotten to be much good on either the banjo or the guitar, but that may have as much to do with my aversion to practicing as it has with my decision to play right-handed. I suspect, however, that, even if I practiced diligently, I'd never have the speed and co-ordination with my right hand that I might have had with my left.

    The one point on which I think Ms. Anderson is flat wrong is no. 2, in which she suggests that it doesn't really make any difference whether one plays right-handed or left-handed. Right-handed guitars (and other stringed instruments) are built as they are for a reason: they're easier for the vast majority of people--i.e., right-handers--to play. Yes, both hands need strength, agility, speed, and precision; but the hand that sounds the strings needs more of the latter three, and it will always be easier for a player to develop those attributes in the dominant hand. (There are truly ambidextrous people, I gather, but they're so rare that there's really no point in bringing them into the discussion. Most people who get called "ambidextrous" are simply folks who have learned to use their non-dominant hands very well in certain tasks.)

    The ideal thing would be for left-handed players to learn to play both right-handed and left-handed instruments from an early age; but that's a pretty expensive proposition, and it's a lot to ask of a kid. I think Hendrix may have done it (or maybe he just learned to play both kinds of guitar left-handed), but I don't know of any other great players who managed it. Most of us have had to pick one or the other. Libba Cotton taught herself to play a right-handed guitar turned upside-down. Dick Dale did the same thing. Don Everly learned to play right-handed--he says his right-handed guitarist father told him he had to: "They’ll call you lefty otherwise." Paul McCartney learned to play on a left-handed guitar, then switched to the left-handed bass. Playing left-handed never held him back all that much, as far as I can tell.
  62. karl
    I found this on a Canadian site by a female music teacher Jamie Anderson. All you Canadian Leftys should get on to her site and let her know how discriminitary her comments are and how out of step she is with the rest of the music world.




    Eight reasons why a left-handed person should get a standard guitar

    Posted on October 11, 2012




    If you already play a left-handed guitar, go for it. It’s not that it’s inherently wrong. Some of the best guitar players on the planet, like Elizabeth Cotten and Jimi Hendrix, played that way. But, if you’re just starting out, I’ll give you a few reasons why a standard guitar ( right-handed”) is going to work better for you.



    1. Left handed guitars are harder to find and are usually more expensive.

    2. You’re demanding a lot out of both hands. It doesn’t matter which hand you use in other situations. If we’re really being honest, ambidextrous people are the ones who have the advantage. The rest of us have to train our less-dominant hands to either press down the strings hard enough for a clear tone, or strum and pick with accuracy. Both parts can be challenging, especially for a beginner.



    3. If you borrow a guitar, most likely it’s a standard guitar. If you’re used to a left-handed guitar then you’re stuck, unless you learned to play upside down, too, like Cotten did.

    4. Most instructional material is for those who play a standard guitar. While left-handed guitar players can use it, it can be confusing.

    5. You can’t simply restring a standard guitar. The bracing and pick guard are set up to play it the other way. You can seriously damage a guitar by stringing it the wrong way.

    6. If you want to learn another stringed instrument, it’ll be more difficult than finding a left-handed guitar. Many guitar players go on to play other stringed instruments. Makes sense since you need the same kind of skills to play them. Once you build up the strength and flexibility to play the guitar, it’s fairly easy to move on to the mandolin, ukulele, banjo or whatever else you want.

    7. It’s harder for other players to follow you. If you’re at a jam and everyone is watching you for the chord changes, you’re going to make their brains sweat.

    8. You won’t bang into your bandmates. You’re laughing, but I’ve seen it happen. Most musicians don’t expect that long neck to be hanging out on the right side.
    1. Bob
      Libba Cotten held her guitar like a lefty, but it was strung right handed. She flipped a right handed guitar over. I was looking at some sites about her today. Someone on here reminded me that Dick Dale does the same thing. I will have to look into that. I saw him play and wish I had payed more attention to his technique.
  63. Clare
    I was rubbish at maths at school, but I am also epileptic, so I suspect the medication dumbed me down. I did really well at college and got degree level equivalent in maths so obviously I must be OK at it now
  64. Keef
    I have been left-handed when writing all my life and playing guitar. I play golf, tennis, cricket right handed though. My step-father is also left handed however it was not his influence that casused me to be left-handed even though he has been in my life since I was 6. However 3 years ago I discovered, and finally met, an older half-brother (in his 70's) whom had the same father ( he died just after my birth) as me. Interesting to discover that he is also left-handed! It appears to be a genetic thing.
  65. Andrew
    I am the only lefty in my family. My parents and brother are all right handed. I was never forced to change hands at school or home. I am now married to a fellow lefty and all our kids are left handed(3, two boys and a girl). My wife is the only lefty in her family as well. My writing leans to the right slightly without the hook hand even though I tilt the page like a left hander would. My kids all write like me.
  66. Indy
    Hello! I'm a lefty:D And I litterally write upside down, all the teachers and people at school are AMAZED.The teachers always say they've never seen a student wirte like me before. My friends call it MEGA FAST calligraphy. And I don't understand why:') Because it just looks normal! However I do accept the fact that it is upside down, like 180 degree's :') But my History teacher just takes the mick:'D And in primary school, teachers would be like 'turn your book the right way round' and i'd be like 'its how i right...' and they'd always tell me off:/ But in secondary school they accept me!haha:') But yeah, can anyone let me know if they do this as well? Because at the moment I feel special && like a freak:'D
    1. Bob
      Sounds logical to me! It would help you from getting ink on your hand, plus pens are designed to pull along, whereas most of us push the ball. Great idea! I might have to try it sometime. Just for amusement, I don't think I would adopt it this late in life. LOL
  67. David Paasch
    We really enjoy the Left-Handed site. My wife and I are both left handed and so was our Mothers. When we had our first kids (Twin Boys) the doctor said they were identical
    When they learned to write, one was right handed and one left handed. We asked the doctor and he said that is another sign of identical. When facing each other, their writing hand is on the same side..
    Well, it was funny, when they grew up and married, the son that is left handed had right handed kids and the right handed one had left handed kids. Then Our daughter married a left handed man and their kids are both left handed. She says she is the only right one in her family!!! One our favorite plaques to show people is the one that says, You are born left handed and you turn right handed when you commit your first sin. (Right handers never enjoy this!)
  68. Greer Fay
    My mother got a letter from a neurologist attesting to the possibility that forcing me to write with my right hand could be harmful to my brain. The school accepted the neurologist's opinion, and from then on I was permitted to write with my left hand, but unlike most lefties, because I had previously been forced to write with my right hand, I do not bend my wrist towards the page and the act of writing does not look as if it's being done upside down. Also I've noticed that while most left handers have very scratchy handwriting which is difficult to decipher, my writing for whatever reason is legible and even sufficiently attractive as to elicit compliments. The initial childhood experience at school has made me partially ambidextrous, plus the fact that although my mother could accept and even encourage the fact that I was naturally left handed, she stopped short when it came to table manners and forced me to eat with the fork in my left hand and the knife in my right. I'm ambidextrous when it comes to soup, and if the spoon is closer to my left hand, I will pick it up with my left hand and use it accordingly, and if it's closer to my right hand, then I will use it in a way that would please my mother.
    I have a left handed cousin whose mother was more liberal than mine and allowed her to eat with the fork in the right hand and the knife in the left.
    However both of us knit like right handed people.
  69. BridgetteMarie
    I am a lefty and remember the second grade teacher telling the class that anyone who writes with their left hand will be hung on the flag pole. I didn't change, but I have noticed and I have spoken to lefties who have trouble knowing their left from their right. The instruction to take a right often leads to taking a left. I spoke to a co-worker whose husband is a lefty and she said the same thing. Also I have to think which is left and right, but I can point in the direction I want to go, I just have think to verbalize it. I have read that stuttering can be caused by forcing lefties to fight handed. Their "wires and signals" get crossed when forcing them to go against their normal inclination.

    Years ago I read lots of books about being left handed. MIT has a higher percentage of southpaws than the general population. They are/were the best 10 pin bowlers. There are a high percentage of top athletes who are lefties. If I recall quite a few scientists are lefties... Einstein I believe.
  70. Bernard
    I am right handed when I write but I always use my left hand when I:
    -deal cards and any document
    -play cards
    -fasten my trousers belt
    -clap (the left hand is above and moves)
    -count on my fingers
    -pick up things on a table and put them in the other hand
    -wipe my face with a cloth
    -do knots (sew, for example)

    and also
    -I breathe on the left side when I swim crawl
    -I cross my arms with the left one above the other

    What am I ?
  71. Shima from Malaysia
    My mom always find it weird the way I peel off a fruit, I also don't know how to use a chopstick. But when people praise me for the artwork that I did, I knew it because I'm a lefthanded. Just got to know their a Lefthander's day..cool . I wish I knew it long time ago
  72. Chandrakant Trivedi
    I am lefty from my childhood.My parent does not stress me for right hand activities. I never felt any problem being lefty.It does not matter you are righty or lefty.As all programmes are fed in your neurotransmitter of brain as per your requirements. So it simply takes and pass on signals normally. and biologically it is clocked in nicely so no disturbances are found in lefty order too.I am not facing any problem still at the age of 63 years.
  73. Carole Lavine
    Lefties with brain damage are right handed. I am 79 and lived thrrough the era of "converting" lefties to the right handed world. Think about it - table settings are really convenient for us, forks on the left and knives on the right. the most used keys on the keyboard are on the left side. The only things I do right handed are ironing - because of the way things were set up when I was a kid and fire a rifle. I love being left handed it makes me unique.
  74. Percy
    I am half/left handed. I write and eat with left, but throw, and shave right handed. My brother 13 yrs. younger is strictly left handed and so is His wife. I use to bowl several years back-right handed; never learned to do it with my left. when I was 13, played baseball with other boys, could only throw right hand, but could bat either right or left. I am 74.
  75. Eric
    I'm a new member. Just dowloaded my certification. Will hang it up proudly. My wife thinks that this is really silly. Damn those righties.
    1. Samantha
      Everything I do , like talking about lefty scissors and stuff is silly in my house. I know what you mean.
  76. Merlien
    When my new boss found out that I was left-handed he orderd a left-handed computer keybord, how coul is that! I never understood what those number keys on the right side where for, but on my left-handed keybord they are on the left side so I can finally use them! Proud to be a leftie!!!
    1. Samantha
      Ugh. You're so lucky!
  77. Phil Brzezinski
    I learned to play guitar right handed many years ago, and still play that way, but have a nephew who learned to play left handed. I'd like to hear from someone who learned righty but switched to lefty. Was it easy to do? I've heard that you could IMPROVE your playing ability switching over to left (correct) handed.

    BTW; Jimi Hendrix played BOTH ways!!! He was that good!!
  78. Amy
    I was the only leftie growing up and even though I have 3 children I am still the only leftie in my family. My granddaughter is 8 weeks old and I'm hoping she is just as special as us too!

    Go Left Power!!
    1. Merlien
      My father (81) is a lefty but had to learn to write with his right hand. My grandmother on my mothers side was a lefty but also had to learn to write with her right hand. When they were children it was more or less forbidden to write with your left hand in the Netherlands, they even tied up your left hand on your back so you could not use it. My grandmother could write with both hands and even do mirror writing with one hand while she wrote normal with her other hand! So I had leftys in my family but I was the only one to realy use it. When my doughter was born I silently hoped she would be a lefty, but she's not. So I understand your feeling!
  79. Sue
    I have always been told, I am in a right handed world sometimes it stinks trying to do things set up for right handed people
  80. Margaret
    I'm left-handed and love it! I love it when people tells me I'm left-handed! lol! I'm in my 40s and it still happens, oh and I have only one dimple, so they inform me of this almost everytime I smile! (which is a lot because I'm a proud left-hander!) lol!

    My dad and 3 of my brothers are left-handed. I am the only left-handed girl of my parents' 6 daughters! How special is that!!! :)

    Happy Left-Handers' Day!!
  81. Vera
    Hello lefties all over the world. Of nine children, I am the oldest and they only one that is left handed, and proud of it. I never felt different but knew there was something different about me when I had a hard time trying to do certain things when it felt akward I learned to make it easier for me and not look akward to the righties. I thank god that no one tried to change me I know I was blessed and everyone like me.
  82. Lizz
    Most of my family are left-handed. Kids, parents, grandparents, cousins.. So i understand the difficulties left-handers have in a mainly right-handed world. I have an interest in the research of lefthandedness and always try to raise awareness to it. I also made it a clear topic point during 2years of Teacher Training. Finally just to add to a previous comment by Lynda about her cat, my dog mainly used his left paw to play, step forward and if you asked for his paw, it would always be left!
  83. Candy
    My youngest sister and I are both lefties. They tried to change us in school, but it did'nt work. Our middle sister was the only one they managed to get changed, and she always had problems with reading.
    My husband is also a leftie, so we hoped our kids would be, but neither of them was, and our grandsons are all righties, too. Oh well, both sets of our parents were right handed too.
  84. John
    In my elementary school days, the practice of "Retraining" was still in effect, but after several unsuccessful attempts to subvert me, my teachers gave up! Now that I am an adult, I tell everyone who isn't a Leftie that I am Right-handed and they are WRONG-handed.
  85. Cathy
    Lefties of the world. Remember this. "Everyone is born right-handed but only the best and brightest over come it!" Proud to be a leftie!
  86. Eva McLeod
    I am proud to say that I am left-handed! I was the only one out of 4 children that is left-handed and now all of my Grandsons are left handed. Not a one of my granddaughters are left handed. Growing up I always sat at the end of the table and that way there was no elbow bumping. I was fortunate enough that my parents and grandparents did not try to change me. I know that at school they tried and my family told them not to try to force me. I always know that I am in my right mind at all times.
  87. Rachel Bartholf
    Hi! I am sooo proud to be a leftie all my life! I am also glad that none of my teachers never forced me to write with my right hand and the only time was for a science experiement. As part of my honors bio class I had a project that gauged the amount of left handed people and the right handed people and their grades in math and science, and that was interesting to say the least. Despite the questionaire was to be nameless, some did write their names on the paper! I do have an uncle who was forced to write with his right hand due to the nuns in his schools telling him that the Latin word for left was sinister!
  88. Irish Cornaire
    As child my da used to try and break me from using my left hand,anytime I picked up my pencil,fork etc he would wack my knuckles with the handle of a butter knife,he would tell me only ignorant stupid people used their left hand,it seems I was the only one on my da and mums side that turned out left handed,today @ 54 yrs of age I do everything left handed except write and that is due to my da tying my left arm behind my back and forcing me to write with my right hand,none of my 4 children turned out left handed so I wonder if any of my grandchildren will.
  89. Cheri
    Being left handed is special to me, being the middle child and the only left handed child made it even more special. Learning certain crafts like crochet was somewhat difficult however. My sister-in-law found a unique way to teach me...mirror image...she sat across from me and I copied her in a mirror image sort of way as she demonstrated to me what to do. I have three children, one is left handed, one right handed and one can use either hand equally as well.
  90. Rene'
    I am left handed, no one in my family is left handed. I did discover that a distant relative (Great Uncle) whom I never met was left handed. I was hoping that at least one of my children would be left handed but none of them are. It was difficult growing up with people trying to tell me that I shouldn't write that way. But the more I learned about the great people who were left handed to better I felt. We may be considered a minority but the great people that the world looks up to like Leonardo DaVinci make it worthwhile being in the club!!!
  91. tom
    ! ytfel a eb ot duorP
    Yes, I'm proud because I had to fight 'em every step of the way, from holding spoons as an infant, all the way through school and beyond. Oppression builds strength! And in all fairness, "those others" did open the ambidextrous door... I can now spill soup on my shirt with either hand.
  92. Rita
    I am one of eleven kids, I am also the only lefty. I was number 7 in the family, my older brothers and sisters teased me all the time. Even back then, I never let it bother me. Even the four younger kids got into the act of teasing me, still I never let it bother me. In the words of Ole Blue Eyes, "I DID IT MY WAY" Have never or ever will be ashamed of my lefthandedness. AM proud to be a lefty. Sure I make adjustments for different things like utensils, but i still use my left hand.
    HAPPY LEFT HANDERS DAY TO ALL!!!!
  93. Lynda
    Hi all you fellow lefties. They never tried to change me and I'm glad of it. I also have a left-handed (or should I say pawed?) cat, I know because he always taps me to get my attention and always with his left paw. So, hi from Red the leftie cat too.
  94. Gerald Nash
    I work in carpentry and noticed that when I have to mark a measurement on a board the numbers are all right side up on every measuring tape I have ever used (since I use the right hand to hold the tape and left hand to mark the board). Does that mean all tapes are left handed? I think it might be the biggest southpaw conspiracy of them all.
  95. yona_afzan
    when i was a kid, i always had this problem of eating..i ate with my left hand..back then, my dad was really harsh on me as he scolded me and taught me to use the right hand to eat..hehe, to remember those days were very embarrassing as i cried a lot during eating..

    my classmates used to stare at me on how i write on the book, because they said i hold the pencil in an awkward way..

    now, i don't use left hand to eat but i will rearrange the cutleries before i have my meal..=)
  96. Amon Ng`etich
    hi? am Amon from KENYA(Africa).Iam left handed and am proud of it.my late mum and late Grandpa were Lefthanded lyk me and whenever Iam writing using my left I always remember them.
    Another reason am proud to be left handed is A GOOD NUMBER OF GREAT IN THIS WORLD ARE LEFT HANDED........ A good example is the USA president Barack Obama is left handed....
    I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE TO BE LEFT HANDED and I LOVE ALL THE LEFT HANDED PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  97. kevin braddy
    i am 1 of 7 kids and i am dam proud to be a molly dooker (left hander) i think being 1 is better than sliced bread
  98. LeeElla
    hello, just found out about your club from a magazine article.(parade). went to the site and found some really good articles there. I am a 60 year old african american female, who grew up not knowing a lot of lefties, especially in school. Nice to know that there are more like me out there. I also have a 25 year old granddaughter who is also a lefty. we never tried to change her during her younger years and she turned out just fine. neither did my parents.
  99. Karen
    hi,being left handed is normal i think,im the only one in my family who is left handed.sometimes they make fun of me but i do not pay attention to them,sometimes its very hard because you might go to an occasion and to only find out you are the only doing the opposite thing but i enjoy being left handed & im really proud
  100. Karen
    i am the middle of three siblings, and i'm the only lefy out of us three. my nan (god rest her soul), was left handed and my son is, too.
    i have a friend who's niece is also lfet handed, though no one in her family (and i mean no one!) is left handed.

    i can honestly say that i was never forced to use my right hand, when i was at primary school. i did once ask my dad why i was left handed. he told me that he encouraged me to use my left hand, once he realised i wanted to use that hand.

    the majority of lefties actually use the mouse in their right hand. i know of three lefties who do so. my friend's sister in law, his niece, and my son. i use the mouse in my left hand, cos to me, that feels right and proper. i even switched the buttons over.
    1. david
      I'm glad to see that I'm not the only leftie who uses his right hand for the mouse. I tried it in my left hand, but it felt awkward.
  101. Choonlooi
    I used to have two different sets of handwriting in kindergarten in Malaysia where I was born and raised because I would switch back and forth from left hand to right hand .... right hand when the teacher was facing me and left hand when she turned the other way. Very stressful. Luckily, by primary school, I used my left hand even though weirdly enough, the primary and secondary schools were run by nuns. Go figure... I do say though that the principal Sister Aidan was a 'modern' nun, not a strict one. She understood.
    My daughter is left handed too. Yay!
  102. Anuja
    hi...I am left handed and I am very proud to be one! Orthodox society in India did wish to change my ways, but my parents love me for my identity and were supportive to raise me up as a leftie! Nowadays, the orthodox views against left-handedness are changing and we should be extremely pleased about that. I wish all parents of left-handed children retain their kids as lefties, and avoid harming the child's identity, as left-handedness when changed, causes suppression of intelligence that lefties are born with and loss of confidence and also, a feeling of lost identity.
    1. Dhiren
      You are right Anuja.. i also faced that problem when i was in my childhood..My relatives force me for doing every work from right hand but still i using my left hand for every work,, even taking food, drinking water, writing, in temples for pooja, also in my job when i use multimeter, DSO, CRO or keyboard and mouse in PC. I feel i am something different from others and i sure every left handed person has unique and special quality.
  103. Teresa
    I'm left handed, so is my Mom. I remember practicing writing as a child, and I said this isn't right I moved my pencil from my left hand to my right hand. My Mom asked why did you do that? I said the teacher told me to write with this hand (right). My Mom took me to school the next day to talk with my teacher. Needless to say the teacher didn't ask me to change hands again. LOL My Mom always said Everyone is born right handed only a few of us over come it. LOL
  104. tonniette
    I am the youngest of 3 children,we all have different fathers and all are lefties.Mom says that none of our dads were left-handed and she did not use her left hand.Years ago it was not if you wished to switch to your right hand,they just made you do it...I hold firm in my belief that mom was a leftie who was changed and so I believe that it is passed from parent to child.
    My brother is gone(nuns forced him to change)my sister now uses both(nuns changed her too)and I refused to be changed,though they tried.
    I also believe that as people are not forcing lefties to change the way they once did that our numbers will only go up.
  105. kushoto
    Hi, am left-handed and very pleased to be to know that there are people who are as special as I am. am an African male from Kenya and for long ave been told that it is wrong to use the left hand to eat and that my handwriting was so poor. I have also found it difficult to follow my dream of being a guitar player since there are no left-handed Guitars in the Kenyan market among other things that are left handed.am pleased to be a friend of other lefties like you.I have started a Left handed movement here in Kenya And we are receiving a lot of positive feedback from lefties, it is amazing to realize that we are so many...
    1. Samuel Waithaka
      Kushoto, you're from Kenya (your name caught me first - 'left' in Swahili), you play the guitar, I thought I made this post :)...
      I took time to learn to play guitar but I'm glad I learned playing right handed coz I find my strong hand on the fretboard an advantage.
      My dad's left handed, he talked to the teacher when I joined school as a child not to force me to use right. That's what happened to him back in their days and it was not pleasant.
    2. yona_afzan
      hi Kushoto..

      i'm very much interested with your dream to become a guitar player..at first, maybe it's a bit hard to play left handed but after a while, everything's gonna be just natural..like you own the music..trust me..=)

      i wanted to play guitar so badly when i was a kid, but my brother refused to teach me as i'm so leftie..that's what he said..

      but, i taught myself and with the help of friends, youtube and yeay, i've achieved my childhood dream on the age of 23..

      so, never give up on your dream and it's not POSSIBLE..^_^♥
    3. Gerald Nash
      I also play right handed. I wanted to play ever since I was a little boy and when I was about twelve years old I went to work to buy myself a guitar. The only one I could afford was right handed and I have been playing that way ever since. I tried plating left handed a few times, but with the right being my fret hand I had immediate coordination problems. I have been playing for over 20 years and I will say that I do have problems at times finding the proper strumming pattern with my right.

      Kushoto, if you were discouraged to be left handed in your country, maybe it will give you a bit of an advantage to learning how to play right handed. I have many brothers and sisters and most are right handed so I learned a great deal of right handed techniques, from working in factories with right handed set-ups to throwing a curveball and slider.

      Jimi Hendrix was left handed. He would play guitar upside down. He flipped the nut and strings over. That might also be an option for you.
  106. Andrew
    So glad to be a leftie. My immediate family are all left handed( me and both my children).
    This site is a godsend to us for leftie products. We use our left hand for everything. I find it very difficult living in a right handed based world, particularly at school when writing with normal ballpoint pens.

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