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13 August is “Left Handers’ Day,” and since Friday the 13th comes on a Monday this month, it means a whole week of bad luck – but only for those of the dextral persuasion.
I’ll admit it. I’m a Lefty. Always have been.
My first inkling that things were not fair and equal, at least handed-wise, was with the q-shaped school desks. Occasionally there was one p-shaped desk per classroom, but that was a rarity, so us lefties adapted without complaint.
Later on it was penmanship, where part of the grade dismissed content and replaced it with “neatness.” To further embarrass us non-dextralites, they made us put little green plastic thingys on our pencils and pens as if we didn’t now how to grasp them properly. As late as 4th grade, Mrs. Mikulski grabbed and twisted my hand because I was “hooking” in order to write in cursive with the proper slant.
And all this happened in Public School.
True, there are many things that give us southpaws mild annoyance, but the majority of us are ambidextrous to varying degrees. I don’t know why mankind developed such a wide gap between right vs. left handedness (90% vs. 10% in the US) but I have my suspicions.
I believe it goes back to the ancients and the communal feed bowl mantra: eat with your right and wipe with your left. I’ll bet they figured that one out pretty quickly, and those who didn’t comply with the rules were not well received. It’s likely that entire communities that didn’t respect that basic rule of hygiene ceased to exist from either persecution or self-administered bacterial infection.
It’s true. I am a Lefty who washes BOTH hands, so don’t be disturbed when I walk up, offer my right hand in cordial camaraderie and say,
“Welcome to The Overnight Open Thread.”
Tags: handedness, Left, Overnight Open Thread
You and my Wife Bunk. She is also ambi so was able to write right handed!
@ AZOlddog:
I can imagine the ancient tribes meeting for the first time.
“Howdy! Which hand do YOU eat with?”
@ Bunk X:
I think that would only happen in places where there was very little water.
Bunk, you know I only make fun of your left-handedness because I am one of those “evil” 10 percenters that is a lefty.
I married a lefty and even produced a kid that’s a lefty as well.
@ Calo:
I was going to make a snarky remark about inbreeding but I’m above that kind of snark so I won’t.
@ AZOlddog:
You mean places where you have to wipe with a rock?
And now for something completely different…
(headbangers ball meets Native American? Not interpreting, just listening.)
/take that calo
/lurk/lurk/lurk
And just to keep you guessing…
/probably stop soon
/lurk
@ CynicalConservative:
@ doriangrey:
hey DG
was there an episode of falling skies last week or was tonights
the new one
it seemed like I missed something
rain of lead wrote:
Tonight.
@ rain of lead:
That’s the worst haiku I’ve ever read.
@ CynicalConservative:
CC -- I missed you tonight in chat.
Bunk and M were scaring me with all their cheap talk and innuendos!!!
@ Bunk X:
lost count somewhere and it just got away from me
@ Calo:
Y’ know, every now and then
I think you might like to hear something from us
Nice and easy
But there’s just one thing
You see we never ever do nothing
Nice and easy
We always do it nice and rough
@ rain of lead:
Don’t mess with Haiku
Unless you have seven toes
Easier to count
I’m right handed and left eyed. I’ve never been able to aim a firearm precisely. That’s why I don’t get involved in firearm threads.
I’m pretty good at the pool table though.
Zimriel wrote:
With practice, one can do pretty well when the opposing eye is dominant.
Bats left, throws right. Kicks better left, but seems like the ball was always by the right foot. Golfs left. Bowls either way, but just try to find a nice heavy left-hand ball at an alley. Fires a gun left handed.
Writes mostly right hand because it was a pre-Vatican-II Roman Catholic school (left hand was “for the Devil”; one kid had “special permission from his parents” to learn the write with his left hand; the rest of were living dangerously if we tried to put that pencil in our left hand). However, if the right hand gets too tried, I just use the left for a while.
Eats European style, knife in the right and fork in the left.
What about everything else? Right-handed if I learned to do it before I was 10 or 11. Left-handed if I learned later in life. In fact, it is impossible for me use a computer mouse with my right hand (or anything invented after I was 11 or so).
Why bat left handed? Couldn’t hit right-handed; was one of those kids who could make all three outs most every inning. Tried hitting left-handed about 10 or 11; instantly became one of the neighborhood’s better hitters.
Sound strange? Darn if my kid isn’t the same way!
So, is that left-handed, ambidextrous or just plain confused?
@ CzechRebel:
Yep , that sums it up for us lefties -- perpetually confused.
@ Calo:
Did you see what happened? I hope so.
@ Bunk X:
What happens on the right side of my desk does not exist.
I’m a lefty, bassshalfbackwards for the most part.
@ Bunk X:
Guess I might as well say good night in an email to myself.
Night, and happy Monday to those who might wander by.
I take it lobo is in the air now, approaching US airspace…
Morning everyone, it’s been awhile. Too busy at home, and no blog access at work any more. I bring a peace offering and will try to drop in more when I can.
Mike C. wrote:
I bet he is grinning in his sleep.
Prebanned wrote:
Actually, I’m sitting at Dulles, waiting for my flight to Denver. The flight from Kuwait actually arrived early, which is a first. Naturally, my connecting flight here had to be delayed.
Oh well. The free wifi at the airport is 1000% better than what I paid an exorbitant amount for in Kuwait.
@ lobo91:
whoo hoo
back on american soil
glad you are (sorta) back
@ lobo91:
Welcome back to “the World”!
rain of lead wrote:
Yeah, I’m in occupied DC. Well, actually it’s northern Virginia, I guess.
I’m only getting home 90 minutes later than scheduled, so it’s not too bad. They originally wanted to put me on a bus to Reagan National, then on a flight through Chicago. I would’ve gotten home 7 hours late, with an extra connection.
@ MacDuff:
Thanks
Well, I have to get going. I may not be on again umtil tomorrow when I get my internet reconnected at home.