Sarah Biren

Sarah Biren

October 29, 2024

9 Common Things That are Tricky for Left Handers

Left-handers have had their share of troubles in the past. Left-handedness was stigmatized and often thought of as an abnormality, a sign of weakness, or even demonic possession. To their disadvantage, children were forced to write with their right hands. Fortunately, we know there’s nothing wrong with being left-handed. Now, lefties take up about 10–15 percent of the general population. Despite the small percentage, we know many people in our lives who are lefties. There’s also the extensive list of famous lefties who include, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Lewis Carroll, and Neil Armstrong. 

Special Traits Attributed to Lefties

Man writing by left hand. Left hander day concept. Working place of lefty
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Several studies have analyzed the differences between righties and lefties. Although it’s difficult to conclude pinpointed details about each one, here are some traits often attributed to lefties

  • They are able to come up with several approaches to problem-solving instead of seeing things in black and white. 
  • Left-handers have a lot of creative intuition and use it to explore new ways of processing information or in their creative hobbies. 
  • They are fast learners. 
  • They are individualistic and independent. 

Read: What Are Those Grids of Glass in the Sidewalk — And Why Are They Purple

9 Tasks That Are More Difficult for Left-Handed People 

Portrait of young smiling man in suit standing on white background showing something in his left hand.
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With all of the stigma lefties have endured in the past, you would think we would have learned to co-exist by now. However, there are little ways lefties struggle in this righty-dominated world. 

Using a Can Opener 

A woman is carefully opening a can of tomato paste on a kitchen counter using a white plastic can opener. She is preparing a meal for which she uses both fresh and pureed preserved tomatoes
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Manual can openers operate for right-handed people by design. Lefties have to either hold it at a strange angle or move the opener in the opposite direction. It takes a little bit of creative contortion, but that will become a recurring theme on this list. Fortunately, it’s easy to open pull-tab cans without much trouble for lefties and righties. 

Taking a Drink from a Car’s Cup Holder 

The lenses for the camera in the car's cup holders. Gearbox lever manual gearbox
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With the cup holder on the driver’s right side (at least in America and Canada), lefties have to accustom themselves to pick up their water bottles or coffees with their less dominant hand. There’s no real way to pivot to grab the drink with the left hand unless of course, you move to Britain or Australia where the driver’s seat is on the right side. 

Measuring Ingredients

Chef is Pouring Milk into The Measuring Cup
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 Liquid measuring cups usually print the serving amounts on the left side of the handle, easy to read if you pick it up with your right hand. If lefties would pick it up as they naturally would, they would be looking at the blank side or the metric system side. Here’s a tip: after filling the cup with whatever ingredient you are measuring, place it on the counter and look at it from eye level. That’s a simple and foolproof way anyone could tell if it’s the proper amount.  

Zippers

Silver lock with black zipper on clothes close-up. Zipper
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Zippers on jeans, jackets, dresses, and even backpacks, are usually open on the right side. There’s the same idea with buttons as well, and often those are even worse for lefties. Some dresses and other apparel designed for women place the closures on the left. This began back in the day when servants helped dress women in the Victorian era. 

Banking 

Japanese tax calculations lies on table with calculator, pen and japanese yen money bills close up
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This actually applies to other industries as well, like certain grocery chains. Desks often attach pens to a chord to prevent them from getting stolen or lost. They are all good and well for right-handed people, but lefties are left being a little restricted in their movements as they sign whatever needs to be signed. 

Walking 

Man walking in sunrise in Toronto
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You know that moment when you come toward someone walking in the opposite direction and you have to perform an awkward dance to get out of each other’s way? This could happen easily between a righty and a lefty. People tend to lean into their dominant side as they walk—placing themselves right in front of the other person. 

Eating with Company 

Excited diverse employees eating pizza during break in office together, happy Indian businesswoman laughing at funny joke, talking chatting with colleagues, having fun, sharing corporate lunch
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Most people eat with their dominant hand, which is all well and good when you’re eating alone. When you’re with people, however, it can become a boxing ring. A lefty and a righty sitting next to each other often unintentionally engage in an elbow-room battle. Also, it’s likely their drinks will end up next to each other’s, heightening the risk of spilling and accidentally swapping glasses.

Writing 

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One way to spot a lefty is to find the inky, smudged mess on the side of their left hand. Since you write English left to right, lefties place their hands over words they had just written before it has a chance to set in. This could be one of the reasons lefty handwriting is stereotypically messy. 

Scissors 

Young beautiful hairdresser woman holding scissors over yellow isolated background annoyed and frustrated shouting with anger, crazy and yelling with raised hand, anger concept
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Here’s the famous example of lefty struggles: scissors. They are often shaped to fit the right hand to allow easier and more comfortable cutting, but not for lefties. Unless you use special lefty scissors or you get a pair without this molded shape, lefties often use scissors upside down with their thumbs in the finger hole. A little silly-looking, but lefties have to make due in a righty-dominated world. 

Sources

  1. “How Left-Handed People Think and Feel Differently.” Carolyn Gregoire. HuffPost. December 1, 2016 
  2. “One hundred famous left-handed people.” The Guardian. August 13, 2003 
  3. “Psychologists explain how left-handed people work differently.” Lindsay Tigar. Fast Company. August 13, 2018