21 Left-Handed Struggles Only Lefties Understand!
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Did you know that 90% of the population is right-handed?
This does not include left-handed people that were forced to convert and become right-hand
users.
It's no wonder that Lefties struggle with some common things, and have issues when it
comes to functioning tools and gadgets.
It's a right-handed world to be sure.
Even though Lefties make the most of it, there are several struggles that only left-handed
people will understand.
21.
Hand Shake Stigma Shaking hands is a respectful way to greet
someone or to make a promise, and it is expected that people shake with their right hands.
Otherwise, it can be seen as a sign of disrespect.
And, it just plain confuses people if you stick out your left hand to greet someone.
Lefties have no chance of compromise on this one.
Interestingly, though, the Boy Scouts use their left hands to shake hands with each
other.
It's believed that Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, started this custom
in the late 1800s because he strongly believed in, and even wrote a book, promoting ambidexterity.
It was his passion to promote the use of both hands, often at the same time; saying that
it developed both sides of our brains more completely.
20.
Can Opener Cruelty Just like many gadgets, the can opener can
also be the bain of Lefties in the kitchen.
Hey right-handed people, give a can opener a try with your left hand, especially those
manual ones, and let all of us know how that turns out.
19.
Ink Smear Abstract As with many things, it is also a guess that
right-handed people created the English alphabet.
If left-handed scholars created the alphabet, they might have had the letters going from
right to left.
And while we’re on the subject, the actual letters would be backwards.
Picture looking at them in a mirror.
If they flowed right to left, Lefties would rejoice since the ink would stay on the page
and not morph that long letter into a psychology inkblot test.
Even more rejoicing would commence, especially since the inkwells of yesteryear were brimming
with jet black ink, which took time to dry.
Lefties struggle with ink smearing to this day.
Unless they modify their hand grip on the pen, which alters their writing style, or
buy special quick-drying ink pens to save their work from becoming inkblot abstract
artwork.
The struggle is real.
18.
Elbow Wars Remember the last time you were out to dinner
and sat at a small table with your left-handed friend or family member?
Chances are that you guys banged your elbows together while eating.
Luckily, there is a reasonable accommodation in these situations.
Most Lefties have figured out exactly where to sit, in relation to their companions, to
minimize potential dining disturbances.
Have your Lefty friends figured out that sitting at the end of the table, or to your left,
is the way to go?
If they haven’t, will you bring it up to them as a helpful suggestion?
Let us know.
It’s okay to play musical chairs with people until they get to the right spot, to avoid
the dreaded elbow wars.
17.
School Desk Drag Old school desks were definitely a right-handed
invention.
Maybe it was part of the culture, when kids were forced to write with their right hand
only.
Left-handed kids would either turn the desks in an awkward way to get their writing arm
on the desk, or just deal with it.
16.
Coffee Mug Mystery Coffee mug printing also favors the right-handed
majority.
Next time you're holding a coffee mug try and pick it up with your left hand and see
if you can see the graphic printed on it you have to turn the cup around with or hold it
with your right hand to see the image.
15.
Brassiere Hook Blues Manipulating undergarment hooks has its challenges,
as well.
The struggle is real for the left-handed ladies.
In addition to pants zippers and snaps, bras have “hooks and eyes” that are made to
be used with a right hand.
Lefty ladies simply must use their right hand to remove the contraption.
14.
Envelope Stuffing Stuffing a card in an envelope should be an
ambidextrous task, but nooo.
As a Lefty, have you ever been told by the bold that you stuff cards “backwards, upside
down, or wrong?”
If you haven’t, they are just being kind.
That 90% majority use their right hands to retrieve cards.
So Lefties, have some fun with them and keep doing it.
13.
Ladle Spouts Pouts Kitchen ladles and measuring cups were also
made for the right-handed user.
Left-handed kitchen task masters struggle with these instruments.
They are forced to use their right hand unless they want to pour soup out onto the counter,
as opposed to into the intended bowl.
And when using a measuring cup, they have to turn the cup around so they can read the
measurements properly.
12.
Cup Holder Struggles Airplane cup holders on the food trays or
an inconvenience, as well.
The majority of airplanes have you packed in like little sardines, and the small cup
holders are on the right side of the tray.
There are some strides being made, though, as some airlines are starting to add a cup
holder on both sides of the tray.
There's hope yet.
11.
Pencil Sharpener Plight Do classrooms still have pencil sharpeners?
Are you old enough to remember that they were always geared for a right-handed kid?
Those trusty pencil sharpeners were bolted down to either a desk or a wall, limiting
how they were used.
Little Johnny and Jane had to turn the crank with their right hands if they wanted to participate
in class.
10.
Lawn Mower Pull Cord Lawn mower pull cords are often another challenge.
It's hard enough to pull that cord again and again to start a lawn mower.
But it's even harder when you're forced to use your right hand to make it happen.
9.
Shoe String Struggles Tying your shoelaces might seem simple to
right-handed people.
But, the common ways taught to little Lefties can cause confusion.
Some grown ups recall their insightful moms using an ingenious technique.
Have your child watch in a mirror as they practice tying their shoes.
Try this and let us know if it works.
8.
Pants & Purse Zippers Trousers and purse zippers are more right-handed
gadgets.
You have to be ambidextrous to zip up your trousers.
And depending on which shoulder you sling your purse over, those zippers can be challenging,
as well.
7.
Scissor Struggles If you didn't know, you might have guessed
that most pairs of scissors are made for right-handed people.
It's just a hunch, but seems undoubtedly so that a right-handed person created scissors.
It explains why they have certain angles and are ergonomically shaped to fit right-handed
people perfectly.
Left-handed scissor users often feel pain and cramping when using common scissors.
Luckily, at least for the sewing room, some kind genius created left-handed scissors.
They can be a little pricey, but well worth it if you need them often.
6.
Computer Mouse Curse Unless you want to spend a pretty penny on
one of the limited choices available for a left-handed specialty mouse, you are stuck
dealing with right-handed mice.
The average computer mouse is geared for the right-handed person, with all its buttons
and features geared toward the right-handed world.
At least people have the option to re-program some buttons.
5.
POS Machine Pitfalls Take note the next time you're swiping your
credit card on a point-of-sale machine.
Yep, you’ll swipe your card on the right side of the contraption.
To add insult to injury, most of the pens are conveniently placed on the right side
for that overwhelming population majority.
The pen on the extremely short chain at a banking institution is also on the right side.
Want a cheap chuckle?
Observe a left-handed pen user attempting to sign the credit card machine or documents
at the bank.
It ain’t pretty.
4.
Re-String Guitar Strings If you're talented enough to be able to play
the guitar, that’s awesome.
It takes talent to entertain us with that those incredible instruments.
But if you're left-handed, you know the struggles playing a typical guitar.
Either you learn how to strum the strings and hit those cords with your right hand;
or you restring your “ax”.
It may be a hassle, but if you want to play guitar, it's worth finding a solution.
3.
Camera Calamity Even something as simple as holding a professional
camera is geared toward right-handed people.
Left-handed would-be photographers might struggle to reach all of the buttons and levers.
But the bigger issue is that the grip handle portion of the camera is only on the right
side.
People are forced to clutch the camera with their right hand if they want to hold onto
it.
And, just pressing the shutter button is a challenging task.
2.
3-Ring Binder Blues As if writing in a spiral notepad wasn't difficult
enough, try being writing in a 3-ring binder with your left hand.
It's almost impossible to get your hand around those enormous rings whilst putting pen to
paper.
Lefties could almost think it's a conspiracy just to mess with them.
1.
Game Controller Drag This can be an issue when there's a need for
speed, or to be a quick-draw on your favorite first-person shooter video games.
A majority of game controllers are setup for right-handed shooters.
All of the quick action buttons are clearly on the right side of the controller, putting
left-handed gamers at a slight disadvantage.Lefties, feel free to use this excuse if you lose to
faster, right-handed gamers.
But, it's also an opportunity to challenge yourself to beat the competition, in spite
of it.
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