I was born left handed but beaten to the right by my schoolteachers. Writing with the left hand was not an option when I went to school. Pushing the pencil or one of those pens with the long nibs across the paper often ended up with a hole in the paper.
The result was that the things I did at home, I continued to use the left hand while those tasks performed at school were done with the right hand. Even today, I still eat with my knife in the left hand. The same goes for when I use a spade.
By the time I was nine I could write equally well with both hands and the only way to know when I switched hands was the slant of my letters, which brought on a few hidings before I seized the practice.
But it is not all bad news because – even though I ‘unlearned’ the ability to write with the left hand, I’m ambidextrous in many tasks. I can use a hammer and play pool with either hand. I can bat both left-handed or right-handed though there is a difference. I can hit the ball harder with the left hand but I am a much safer batsman when I take strike right handed. Oh, did I mention that I can play chess, checkers and monopoly equally well with either hand?
Being left handed is rather unique. Only one in ten people are south-pawed but certain species, like the sulpher-crested cockatoo, are entirely left-clawed while most parrot species predominantly use the left claw.
But being left is not all kosher. The Latin word for
sinister also means
left or
evil while the Sanskrit word for
left can also mean
wicked. Differences in the lefty’s brain can lead to disorders like schizophrenia and one study showed that 40% of the sufferers were left-handed. It was long believed that left-handers were more prone to alcoholism but research proved this wrong. However, it was established that left-handers do drink more often.
Left-handed politicians hold an advantage in TV debates, as their gestures appear right-handed on screen and appeal to the right-handed majority. And finally, left-handed medieval knights had the advantage when invading castles because the clock-wise spiral of the staircases restricted the sword’s swing for the invaders.
Many famous people are (or were) left handed. Amongst them, we can count Bill Clinton (if we can believe him), Benjamin Franklin, Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, Prince Charles, Napoleon, Fidel Castro, Jack the Ripper, Paul McCartney, and many more. So, if you are left handed, don’t feel left out.
A grand day to you all.
Catfoot Blog (616)
so I tried reading for fifteen minutes but the sleep refused to come.
