International Left Handers Day: Folklore and superstition associated with ‘lefties’

Today, August 13, is International Left Handers Day - billed as “an annual celebration for those lucky enough to have been born left-handed.” Created in 1976, the day is also “our way of raising awareness among the right-handed majority of the different talents and needs of left-handers”, its organizers say.

What famous left-handers have there been?

In the annals of history, famous left-handers have included Julius Caesar, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Joan of Arc and Marie Curie. In the present day, the list of notable ‘lefties’ features figures such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Nicole Kidman, Eminem and LeBron James.

In recent decades, moreover, a large number of U.S. presidents have been left-handed. Of the seven commanders-in-chief since Jimmy Carter left office in 1981, indeed, the only right-handers have been George W. Bush, Joe Biden and the present incumbent, Donald Trump.

In general, however, it is certainly true that left-handers are in the clear minority.

What percentage of people are left-handed?

Per the U.S.’s National Institutes of Health, they represent only around 10-15% of the population, while right-handers account for almost all of the remaining 85-90%.

There is a tiny percentage of people - about 1% - who can be considered ambidextrous: they show no preference for left or right.

A world built for ‘righties’

With right-handers far outnumbering left-handers, society is marked by a bias towards the former.

Notably, many everyday objects are not normally designed for use with the left hand. Scissors are a major example; the same is also true of utensils such as tin openers, potato peelers and corkscrews.

Some musical instruments also illustrate right-handers’ dominance of society. For instance, right-handed guitars tend to be more commonly available. Early in his career, the former Beatle Paul McCartney - another famous left-hander - was forced to get by with a right-handed bass guitar, by flipping it over and playing it upside-down.

These are just some of the disadvantages of being a left-hander in a world where the left hand, and the general concept of the left side, is frequently loaded with negative associations.

“The left hand is the wrong hand”

In many countries, particularly those that are predominantly Muslim, the use of the left hand is frowned upon when carrying out many daily actions.

In a 2017 article for Vice, the journalist Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja recalled her experience of growing up in Indonesia as a child who favored her left. “The left hand is the wrong hand in Indonesia,” Wargadiredja writes.

“It’s impolite, dirty, and something to be kept to yourself. Your right hand is for shaking, touching, basically everything good.

“Your left? Cleaning your ass. It’s the hand reserved for all the dirty work.”

From salt to sinister

In Christianity, meanwhile, there is the belief that the devil is lurking at the left-hand side of your body. If you spill salt, you should throw it over your left shoulder to blind the evil spirit, explains the University of Southern California’s Bailey Abedon.

Such attitudes stretch far back into human history. Take the Ancient Romans, who used the Latin word “sinistrum” not only to mean “left”, but also “awkward” and “unfavorable”, notes the Merriam Webster dictionary.

This is because the Romans “believed that omens seen on the left side told of bad things to come”, Merriam explains. “Sinistrum” gave rise to the English word “sinister”, defined by Merriam as “threatening evil, harm, or danger”.

And “sinister” is not the only word in the English language that is a testament to long-standing negative associations with the left side and left-handedness.

The adjective “gauche”, defined as “lacking social experience or grace”, comes from the French word meaning both “left” and “clumsy”, Merriam points out.

It’s worth noting, though, that ‘lefties’ can also point to positive connotations conjured up by their preferred side.

Some of the positives we’re left with

In the Spanish language, for example, a person whose personality shows a predominance of left-handedness (“mano izquierda”) is blessed with “ability or tact in handling or resolving difficult situations”, according to the Real Academia Española.

In Western marital tradition, meanwhile, custom commonly dictates that you wear your wedding ring on the fourth finger of your left hand - a habit thought to stem from the historical belief that this finger was unique in having a vein that ran directly to the heart.

“The early Romans called this the ‘Vena Amoris’, or vein of love,” the jeweler Stephanie Selle told Brides magazine.

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