Every year, on the 13th August, left-handed people are celebrated on International Left-handers day. So, we’re talking all things left-handed: celebrating left-handed people around the globe and looking at how different it can be for left-handed people around the world.
Let’s start off with some great left-handed facts, figures and fun-stuff:
• The left-handed quality is also known as sinistrality
• There are some very famous left handed individuals: Barak Obama, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Kurt Cobain, Paul McCartney
• Only 1 in 10 people worldwide are left handed
• More men are left handed then women
• Left-handed people are disproportionately brilliant! 5/7 of the most recent US presidents have been left handed
• Left-handers are more likely to succeed at certain sports, particularly cricket, baseball and water polo
• The Incas believed that left handed people had special powers
• North American Suni thought that sinistrality was a sign of good luck
• In Buddhism, left hands are associated with a quest for spiritual freedom
Driving around the world as a left-hander
Driving as a left handed person can seem more suited to right handed people, with right hand drive cars that drive on the right-hand side of the road. However, there are 78 countries that drive on the left side of the road. In fact, left hand drive countries are home to about a quarter of all of the roads in the world.
With 35% of the worlds’ population driving on the left-hand side there are multiple countries where left handed drivers have the advantage. Especially as you can drive there in cars that are better adapted for left handed drivers. The largest of these countries are India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Japan, Thailand and the United Kingdom all drive on the left-hand side too.
Cultural differences effecting left-handers
It’s not just about which hand you write with, being left-handed effects how you do almost everything. Did you know that these noticeable traits are considered completely differently by different cultures around the world?
There are some places which are better suited to left handed people: for example, both Hebrew and Arabic are easier to write for left handed people as they are both written right to left. And in Europe, the US, North America, New Zealand and Australia being left handed is more statistically common.
Conversely, in Africa numbers of left handed people are very low. This could be because that using the left hand is not culturally acceptable. This is also true of Muslim culture. And in Asia there has been a trend against the predominant use of the left hand too.
In China, Japan, and North and South Korea left handers are encouraged to switch to being right handed, particularly because the Chinese alphabet is much harder to write for lefties. The same school of thought was prevalent until recently in Taiwan.
Where ever you live, work, move or explore, being left-handed is a unique trait which you should be proud of. If you are interested in finding out more about different cultures and how they mix with your personality and characteristics, get in touch. Our local experts can help you uncover new destinations that would be perfect for you.