The majority of the world’s populations (85%) is right-handed, and so much of the man-made world is best suited for right-handed people. Things like scissors, notebooks and books, can openers, baseball gloves, cup holders in cars, school desks, etc. are all usually made for right-handed people. Even though the world in general seems to favor right-handedness, today it does not, because today is International Left-handers Day!

In English we even have a special name for a left-handed person: a southpaw. This term is especially used when talking about sports players who use their left hand better than their right hand, but it can also be used to decide left-handers in general. Left-handed people are also sometimes called lefties, while right handed people are called righties.

Even though most people in the world are right-handed, lefties have made a lot of contributions to society. In fact, left-handed people are often thought to be more creative, artistic, and musical. Here is a list of some famous creative, artistic and musical southpaws, just to prove the point: Bob Dylan; JF Kennedy, Jimmi Hendrix; Leonardo Da Vinci, Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Winston Churchill, Celine Dion, Bill Gates; Prince Charles, Bill Clinton, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, Julius Caesar, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Albert Einstein. These are some pretty impressive left-handed people if you ask me.

So, today is the day to celebrate all those lefties in your life. For me that’s a lot of people! Both of my parents and both of my brothers are left-handed. So in my family, as a righty, I’m the odd one out.

One last note, in America it is not considered rude to use your left hand in the same way you use your right hand. People can shake hands and eat with their left hand, just as they do with their right hand.

Here is some more interesting information (from www.dailyinfographic.com) about southpaws for you on this International Left-handers Day.