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Left-Handers Share What Truly Doesn’t Work Right For Them, The Replies Are Surprising (28 Examples)
Interview With Expert
Let’s face it: the world is designed for right-handed folks, from notebooks and pens to instruments, gears, and tools. Left-handed people have to struggle to find things that work for them or simply force themselves to adapt to the system that exists.
That’s why one Redditor asked left-handers to reveal all of the things that just don’t seem to work for them. The answers are certainly illuminating and highlight the unique challenges that come from just having a different dominant hand.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Chairs for students (when there are individual chairs) have writing pad on the right hand side. That sucks.
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#2
Honestly the biggest annoying thing is smudging ink when writing stuff.
#3
Ball point pens. They are designed for the ball to be pulled across the paper. When you're a lefty you push it across the paper and alot of them do not write correctly because of it.
Only 10-12% of the population is made up of lefties! It’s no wonder that pretty much everything around us was invented for right-handed people. It’s not just about the lack of inventions or representation, but also, historically, being left-handed was considered unlucky or even evil. That idea was so ingrained that even the word “sinister” is derived from the Latin word for “left.”
It definitely seems like it’s tough being a leftie in this world. To truly understand their struggles, Bored Panda reached out to Bipinchandra Chaugule. He is the President of the Indian Association of Left-Handers. The organization works to create awareness, eradicate superstitions, conduct research, and even provide a community for left-handed people.
Bipinchandra mentioned that “there are innumerable traditions, conventions, and customs allowing only the use of the right hand. These customs are sometimes (or always) so funny and baseless that we can only pity those who enforce them blindly. I am not only talking about those that originated from superstitions or blind faith but even from apparently scientific fields too.”
#4
Eating at a table next to somebody right-handed. As a lefty, you get used to keeping your elbow tucked in and down to prevent hitting the person sitting to the left. Right-handed eaters (not all) just let that chicken wing flap.
#5
Haven’t seen anyone say this yet but tutorials, especially for things like crocheting. i have to mirror everything in my head.
LillieMean 4 days ago
I had enough of this mental gymnastics and moved on to do punch needle work. The first thread work where left-handedness is not an obstacle. I never learned to knit and I crochet clockwise. I do the round change in the granny square in a different way. I don't know if the list mentions a sewing machine, but it's a pain in the äss when all the buttons and controls are in the wrong place and you have to insert the thread with the wrong hand.
In the past, lefties have even been forced to swap hands when writing or doing tasks with their non-dominant hand. It’s also the reason why it’s hard to ascertain how many Baby Boomers were left-handed, as so many of them just had to adapt and use the “correct” hand.
Bipinchandra told us that “even today, in many sections of society, a toddler is first told to use the right hand for various tasks. It’s fine if the child follows it, but instead, if it puts forward its left hand, more often than not, a light rap is followed by the suggestion, ‘Not this one, but that one.’ Parents would not do this if they had some knowledge of handedness, otherwise, they will keep repeating it.”
#7
Power tools.
All of the grips, angles, and exhaust are designed for right hand operation.
Same with vacuums.
#8
Most app and phone layouts designed for single right handed use while I always have to use two hands.
ChickyChicky 1 day ago
I always use two hands because my hands are small. I miss the old smart phones that were smaller.
#9
Spiral bound notebooks. Can openers. Lead pencils and certain gel pens smudge as you write. Certain computer mice if your like me and only want to use one left handed (thank God for left handed gaming mice).
Being a leftie comes with its own set of practical difficulties. Even if they’re allowed to freely use their left hand and exist in the world, unfortunately, pretty much everything is set up to favor right-handers.
Bipinchandra Chaugule gave a few examples of things and inventions that most lefties struggle with. He said that stuff like “big and small machines, tools, vehicles, equipment, instruments, gadgets, appliances, implements, weapons, and arms are mostly designed for right-handed use.”
“Just to acknowledge, there have been some efforts to design and manufacture some of these items for left-handed or [ambidexterous] use, and they are available at least in the ‘developed’ world, but largely, such examples are very few and most of these are made for right-handed usage.”
“It is also important to note that for an able-bodied, normal, healthy person to do any skilled task with hands involves the best eye-hand coordination. This is obviously better possible with the more preferred hand,” he added. It just goes to show how much of an impact something as small as handedness can have on the rest of a person’s life.
#10
I didn't see anyone mention this one yet,
Brooms, where the stick screws into the brush part.
The way I naturally grip a broom and sweep causes it to gradually unscrew itself until the brush part falls off
So, I have to swap which hand is on top and my entire stance so my sweeping motion will constantly screw the stick and brush tighter together instead.
It's easily manageable but sometimes at the end of a long day of work you're tired, sweeping up and not thinking about having to do it opposite, the broom detaches.
#11
Emergency stops on large industrial equipment.
Most of these are placed so that if there is an accident and you are being pulled into a machine, the e-stop is located wherever a right handed person would instinctively reach as they were trying not to die.
As a left handed person, this means they are *never* located where I need them to be. This is a common enough issue that left handed people are significantly more likely to die or suffer disabling injury in industrial accidents than right handed people. Most safety features are just not designed for lefties. Most large power tools are not designed for lefties at all.
#12
Surgical equipment - surgical scissors, laparoscopic tools - it’s the scissor problem but x10. They lock / unlock with a thumb pulling motion for righties but an awkward thumb pushing motion for lefties. The scissors need to be squeezed by a lefty to keep the blades together while you cut. And you operate on the opposite side as righties which trips up the second surgeon in the room.
Science Nerd 23 hours ago
So I should check the handedness of the surgeon before I commit to the operation?
Even though it seems like lefties have it slightly tougher on a day-to-day basis, nobody seems to take their problems that seriously. One of the biggest reasons is that since right-handers are in the majority, and everything has been designed for them, they don’t really have to think twice about doing or using the stuff around them.
Bipinchandra explained that “since early childhood, most left-handers are systematically convinced that they should learn to do things right-handed, and they fall for the trap. Fighting for left-handers' 'rights' looks like a fancy and fad-like thought in a world filled with many serious social issues.”
He explained that “it needs money to keep a movement going on forever and to create awareness. We have been working in India since 1991 (34 years) and still haven't been able to cover much of the country. We need large funds to reach out to parents, teachers, schools, educationists, and the government.”
The most surprising thing that Bipinchandra mentioned is how “left-handers themselves think that the right hand is the better hand and they too should follow the right-handed norms. e.g., shaking hands, saluting, and other such customs. They do not feel the need to come together, get organized, and fight for their legal rights.”
#13
Most decks of regular playing cards have the number/letter in the upper corner that is hidden when I fold it out. So it is either see just a bunch of white cards or hold it in an awkward reversed fan style.
#14
I know nobody uses them anymore but I used to dream about owning a camera that let me click the shutter with my left hand, so I could hold this really expensive object steady with my dominant hand.
#15
Scissors are terrible, but certain doors are also annoying.
It might seem incredibly hard to change people’s perception of handedness or to suddenly overthrow right-handed control over everything. It might make sense to start small and possibly at an individual level.
Bipinchandra shared a few useful tips that lefties can do to make their lives easier. He said:
- They need to demand left-handed instruments and tools to work with.
- They should [learn] about the hazards they could face while using right-handed items and take necessary precautions.
- They should join organizations like the Association of Left-Handers and create a united front.
- The International Left-handers' Day i.e. 13th of August should be celebrated nationally.
#16
This is a weird one that I've never seen mentioned in these threads before, but it was just bugging me a few minutes ago. I often have to write things down on paper while sitting in a vehicle, in the pre-dawn hour of the day. With no ambient light, I have to turn on the overhead light inside my truck. Which is over the dashboard. So when I turn to my right in order to use my left hand to write on my paper against the top of the center console, my arm ends up casting a shadow on my paper and I can hardly see what I'm writing. If I were using my right hand to write, my arm would be on the far side of the paper from the light and I could actually see what I'm writing.
#17
Learning guitar. I play a right handed guitar flipped the other way, so the strings are backwards but to me it’s normal. Also three ring binders and writing anything because you immediately smudge it. So it’s extra fun when it needs to be nice like on a greeting card. Cake knife/server things, the serrated edge is on the other side.
Being a leftie doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. There are now left-hander communities, inventions, and tools that (are slightly costlier but) are specifically designed for them. It is sometimes believed that left-handed people are more creative and artistic, which seems great. Research has also found that being a leftie can be a great advantage in sports.
Left-handed people might have a few more obstacles to overcome when using their dominant hand, but their unique abilities certainly seem to make up for it!
Are you a leftie? We’d love to hear more about your experience.
#19
I struggle with directions. Meaning if my wife tells me to turn left or right, I have to think about it.
I think this is because growing up and playing sports, I always automatically converted the verbal instructions in my head. Example throwing a ball. “Raise your left arm to point and then throw with your right arm” would become raise my right arm and throw with the left.
Hmmm hmmmm 4 days ago
I'm right handed and I have to work out which way right and left are. Frequently get it wrong too
#20
Credit card readers always angled for right handers.
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
The ones I've used are either mounted on a swivel thing or not mounted on anything so you can angle it however you want.
#21
Ar work, I have to swipe in with a badge.
I have the badge on the left side of my pants, because that's where my left hand can grab it.
I have to reach across, and occasionally reposition myself, because all the readers are on the right side of the users.
Fingerprint sensors on the laptop: Right hand side. As is they num block.
Ignition in the car?
#22
The new style of kitchen faucets with a single knob on the right.
Kise Miarse 4 days ago
If it's your own living space - many of these can be flipped. Ours is on the left because the replacement we bought couldn't fit the space with it on the right.
#23
The alphabet. Not writing itself, I just angle the paper so as not to smudge, but the letters themselves - the shape of them flows nicely when 'pulled' smoothly across the page with a pen, but us lefties have to 'push' the nib across the page.
Try drawing a line, 'pulling' a pen and then 'pushing' it to feel the difference in smoothness.
Also mugs with logos on one side that are not visible when used in the left hand.
Or site sign-in books in narrow spaces in doorways, with a pen on the wrong side - oddly common.
Rulers with the numbers on the wrong side.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 days ago
I'm left-handed and when I draw, I literally rotate my sketchbook/paper around on my lap/desk as I'm drawing XD It feels so unnatural to try and "push" the pencil across the page, so I simply rotate my drawing and "pull" instead. I also have bought spiral notebooks for lefties, because writing in a normal spiral notebook is VERY frustrating and painful - one's hand/arm presses against the spiral.
#24
Nobody has said oven mitts yet! When I use one the pretty design is now on the grabbing side and then gets ruined:(.
Kise Miarse 4 days ago
I'm right handed, but I have a set of 2 oven mitts- one for each hand. So they're out there.
#26
For all the firearm enthusiasts out there, finding a left handed bolt action rifle can be a pain in the a*s. Most often i can only find the models i want set up for right hand, which makes pulling the bolt back very awkward.
UncleJohn3000 4 days ago
Stag Arms makes left-handed rifles. Because the founder was left handed.
#27
Cheese graters. They can f**k right off with their right hander angled little blade things.
#28
Whiteboards.
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 days ago
Well, chalk boards too. I was marked down by lecturers in university during practicals because "you need to stop turning your back on the class". Okay, b!tch, explain how to write on the board left-handed and still see the class.
What do you think ?
LillieMean 4 days ago
Good kitchen knives are hard to find and serrated knives are the worst. I have managed to get several wounds that require stitches. The tools are also tricky and the scariest was the nail gun. I never want to touch it again. It's a shame, because I would like woodwork and renovation. These are really dangerous. The fact that the physical button on my smartwatch is in an awkward place is just a small annoyance. and how sometimes I accidentally like things on social media because the like button is right there on the left thumb.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 days ago
I had to learn to use tools/power tools and kitchen knives right-handed eventually, because I ended up with a lot of injuries/wounds as well :( My dad was a lefty as well, and had learned to use most things right-handed because he was literally forced to NOT be left-handed (he was born in 1942.) I grew up using my computer mouse right-handed because that's what my dad did, even though we were/are both lefties XD But yeah, tools are SCARY, and I still don't feel entirely confident using power tools in my non-dominant hand even though I taught myself to "get used" to it.
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Heidrance 3 days ago
I find myself disagreeing with the notion that “left-handers themselves think that the right hand is the better hand"; in my experience, we're just used to coping with a world that is slightly skewed against us. Every left-handed person I've ever met has at least some functional ambidextrous tendencies, just through basic necessity.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 days ago
As a lefty, I've never thought that the right hand is the better hand XD Eff that. I love being left-handed, even though it does make a few things in life frustrating or difficult for me. And yeah, I've "learned" how to do some tasks right-handed simply because it's functionally near-impossible (or just too annoyingly difficult) to do them left-handed. My dad was a lefty as well (which I always found extra awesome, because I'm adopted) and he learned to use a computer mouse right-handed - he worked for IBM in the 70s/80s and that's the only way they had their workstations set up. So, when I was a kid growing up in the 80s/90s, I learned to use the mouse right-handed from him, even though I'm a lefty. XD
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LillieMean 4 days ago
Good kitchen knives are hard to find and serrated knives are the worst. I have managed to get several wounds that require stitches. The tools are also tricky and the scariest was the nail gun. I never want to touch it again. It's a shame, because I would like woodwork and renovation. These are really dangerous. The fact that the physical button on my smartwatch is in an awkward place is just a small annoyance. and how sometimes I accidentally like things on social media because the like button is right there on the left thumb.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 days ago
I had to learn to use tools/power tools and kitchen knives right-handed eventually, because I ended up with a lot of injuries/wounds as well :( My dad was a lefty as well, and had learned to use most things right-handed because he was literally forced to NOT be left-handed (he was born in 1942.) I grew up using my computer mouse right-handed because that's what my dad did, even though we were/are both lefties XD But yeah, tools are SCARY, and I still don't feel entirely confident using power tools in my non-dominant hand even though I taught myself to "get used" to it.
Load More Replies... Heidrance 3 days ago
I find myself disagreeing with the notion that “left-handers themselves think that the right hand is the better hand"; in my experience, we're just used to coping with a world that is slightly skewed against us. Every left-handed person I've ever met has at least some functional ambidextrous tendencies, just through basic necessity.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 days ago
As a lefty, I've never thought that the right hand is the better hand XD Eff that. I love being left-handed, even though it does make a few things in life frustrating or difficult for me. And yeah, I've "learned" how to do some tasks right-handed simply because it's functionally near-impossible (or just too annoyingly difficult) to do them left-handed. My dad was a lefty as well (which I always found extra awesome, because I'm adopted) and he learned to use a computer mouse right-handed - he worked for IBM in the 70s/80s and that's the only way they had their workstations set up. So, when I was a kid growing up in the 80s/90s, I learned to use the mouse right-handed from him, even though I'm a lefty. XD
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