August 13 is observed annually as the International Lefthanders Day to celebrate the “uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals.” The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R Campbell, the founder of Lefthanders International Inc. Further, in 1990, the Lefthanders International Club was founded with an aim to promote left handedness, and make their views known to manufacturers towards development of items for left-handed individuals. In 1992, the Club launched the International Lefthanders Day to create awareness regarding the “advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed.”
The day is now celebrated worldwide, with around 20 events taking place in the United Kingdom alone.
Though only around 10% of the world’s population is left-handed, this group includes several prominent personalities. Former two-time US president Barack Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, pop singers Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Apple founder Steve Jobs etc. were all left-handed. From among historical figures, this informal group includes the likes of Sir Isaac Newton, Pablo Picasso, Napoleon Bonaparte etc.
Several prominent personalities from India, too, use their left hand for day-to-day works. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actor Amitabh Bachchan, industrialist Ratan Tata etc. are all left-handed.
Left-handers are likely to have better verbal skills than their right-handed counterparts, according to a 2019 study by Oxford University. The basis of this conclusion was a discovery by the researchers that left and right hemispheres of brains of left-handed individuals had better co-ordination in regions involving the use of language. The scientists, though, also cautioned that their study sample constituted just a fraction of the world’s left-handed population, adding that more research is required to reach a definitive conclusion in this regard.
Additionally, the research also found that left-handers were at slightly lower risk of both schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.
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