Happy International Left-handers Day!

International Left-handers Day is a celebration and awareness day for sinistrality, a term meaning “having the left side more efficient than the right,” derived from the Latin word for left, sinister. Historically, 'sinister' also came to mean 'unlucky' or 'bad,' reflecting old cultural biases against left-handedness.

Between 7-10% of the world’s population are left-handed, yet there are still a surprising number of everyday tools that are still designed primarily for right-handed use. International Left-handers Day was created by in 1976 to raise awareness of how this can be an issue for left-handed people, and to celebrate their wonderfully, creative achievements!

Many left-handed people have made a large impact on history and culture: former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are both left-handed, and the actor Bruce Willis would play his characters as left-handed unless it was important to the plot. The famous artists Michaelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci were both left-handed, and the musician Jimi Hendrix would play right-handed guitars held upside down and restrung for left-handed play – this contributed to the unique sound that he was so famous for!

There’s even left-handedness in animals – kangaroos tend to be left-pawed, and studies show male dogs, cats and horses favour their left-hand sides. Interestingly, female dogs, cats and horses tend to the opposite. There are even some very dedicated scientists out there seeking to investigate ‘handedness’ in fish and discover which side fins are dominant!

International Left-handers Day is a chance for us all to think about how to make the world around us accommodates everyone and ultimately be more inclusive, so let’s do that as we celebrate the left-handed people in our lives!