Lefties of the world unite

Today is international Left Handers Day the one dayof the year where sinisterity is celebrated! All across the world ciotogs rise up against the dextrous oppressors!

Interestingly Stone Age implements discovered seem equally divided between left and right and studies of cave drawings have indicated a preference for the left hand. It is only when tools became more sophisticated that a clear hand preference emerged. The right hand preference may have originated in sun worship.

In the Northern hemisphere you have to face south to follow the sun and move from left to right until the suns sets in the west. This gave moving to the right and the right hand side a great significance. Another theory says that as the heart is on the left hand side, a shield would have to be in the left hand to defend it and any weapon therefore had to be held in the right, which became the dominant hand.

Ah who knows if these theories are true but today is our day in the sun.

Lefties ! The Day Has Come

I didn’t realise that today is International Left Handers Day. I suppose the not-wife and my sister should be out and proud and giving displays of manual sinisterity in the operation of scissors and corkscrews. I am mixed up on the issue myself: I started out writing with my right hand, then I fractured my wrist when I was eight and I started to use my left hand . I still use both hands to write but, sadly, my writing is an illegible scrawl whichever hand I use. Most other functions are performed with the left hand.

Interestingly left -handers are on the increase: in 1910 it was thought there that left-handers made up only about 3% of the population; now the figure is about 13%. Also, the days of stigma are over – teachers don’t force children to write with their right hands anymore (I hope they don’t) - but getting hold of some left handed items can be difficult. Oh Ned Flanders come to Romford and bring your Leftorium with you!