© Associated PressAngelina Jolie is left-handed and she's doing all right.
Are left-handed people smarter, more artistic or just plain clumsier? About 10 per cent of the population is left handed and many more of us switch between our hands for various tasks. Yet left-handers have been discriminated against since ancient times and many myths surround this difference.
In fact, most of the popular beliefs about left-handers rarely stand up to close scrutiny, none more so than the belief that they tend to be a little clumsy.
It may appear so, but that's only because most of the world's tools, sporting equipment and musical instruments are designed by right handers for use by right-handers.
An awkward worldEverything from the angle of scissor blades to the turn of corkscrews and the placement of camera buttons favours the right-handed.
So do buttons - at least for men. Ever wondered why women's buttons do up on the left side? It's a relic from the time when right-handed maids helped their mistresses to dress.
More seriously, many power tools and heavy machines can be dangerous because left-handers find it difficult to reach the on/off switch and hold equipment steady.
The upside of this is that many left-handers learn to quickly adapt to items designed for right-handers and this sometimes leads to a heightened manual dexterity in approaching new tasks.
Living in a right-handed world can sometimes be a boon for the left-handed.
According to the Victorian government's Better Health Channel, "The sporting advantage includes taking the right-handed opponent by surprise. Right-handed athletes aren't used to playing against left-handed opponents."
Writing has traditionally been more difficult for left-handers due to smudging. But the modern world favours lefties, who have an advantage with QWERTY computer keyboards.
Some 56 per cent of keystrokes are made with the left hand and 3,000 words in English can be typed entirely with the left hand. Only 300 words are entirely right-handed.
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