“Everyone is born right handed, only the gifted overcome it.”

I am a proud left-handed individual. In my family, I am the only left-handed person. I don’t run around holding it above their heads but it is nice to know that I stand out among the rest of the mutants in my family. I want to give a hearty shout out to all the lefties out there. Today is our day. Today we get to bask in the glory of being in such a small group of people.

According to many studies, only about 10% (or 15% based on where you look) of the world’s population is left handed.  All year long, the evil right-handed people ridicule the left handed population for being different. People seem to associate us the with devil and being evil. Way before I was born, kids were forced to write with their right hand. That’s the catholic school system for you. Still ruthless and insane as they were 50 years ago.

Today is our day to shine. Today is the day that we get to shine and stand out for being different. This joyous day was given to lefties back in 1976. Since that day, we’ve held events, gatherings, and you can find many items made specifically just for us. There are scissors, clocks, watches, pens and notebooks. You can find some of these fantastic items at the links below.

Anything Left-Handed (Based in the UK)

Lefty’s Left Hand

Some interesting facts about lefties:

• Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in lefties.
• Left-Handers are three times more likely than right-handers to become alcoholics. (oops.)
• Lefties have a nine year shorter life span than righties.
• 20% of all MENSA members are reported to be left-handed.
• They tend to be more athletically inclined.
• Lefties are better at multitasking.

There are plenty of famous right handed people. But you don’t go around talking about them. They are special 364 days a year. It is the lefties who get one day to be the stars. A short list of some famous lefties

Oprah

Barack Obama

Bill Clinton

Mark Twain

Eminem

Mozart

Paul Simon

Jerry Seinfeld

George Burns

Tom Cruise

Charlie Chaplin

Barry Bonds

Babe Ruth

Me

Again, Happy National Left-Hander’s Day to all the southpaws out there. Hope you have a great and fullfilling day. I will leave you with a song! Enjoy.

The Lefty Lament (click to listen)