Today is International Left Handers’ Day and if you’re a lefty, unite with the rest in your clan and revel in its uniqueness, as you only form 10 per cent of the total world population.

Left-handers are often seen as odd men out as every material in this world, be it gadgets, desks, cooking tools, car steering have been designed only to make right handers comfortable.

What Makes a Left-hander?

Mostly genetic, say researchers. If both parents are left-handers, there is a 26% chance of their child being left-handed. While scientists have always been fascinated on what makes their ‘left hand dominant’, they have not so far recognised any particular ‘lefty genes.’

Several studies proved that brain wiring in lefties vs righties is different and people with dominant left hand tend to show particular set of very unique and positive personality traits.

Adapt Quickly: Left-handers are known for adapting to changes very quickly. They come up with creative solutions in handling things, functioning effectively in a variety of situations and handle tasks successfully even without much practice.

Better Multitaskers: Left handers are believed to be better at multitasking compared to their right-hand counterparts at work. They are known for thinking from a different perspective and get things done efficiently.

Leadership Qualities: Do you know that a majority of world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, former US Presidents Ronal Reagan, George H.W.Bush, Bill Clinton Barack Obama were all left handers? It is believed that left handers train themselves to be more creative, think critically and develop problem solving skills from a very young age and that helps them in developing leadership qualities.

Athletics: Left handers are believed to be good at sports as they are better at processing information across the two sides of brain and they excel at sports due to the edge given by faster reactions, while playing tennis, boxing, baseball.

Higher Levels of IQ: Researchers believe that left handers are much smarter, sharper and their intelligent quotient is way too higher than compared to right handers. Twenty per cent of all Mensa members are left handed and the left handers form a long list of Noble prize winners. 

Famous Indian Left Handers:

India has a long list of hugely successful left handers in their respective fields. The list includes Mahatma Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan, industrialist Ratan Tata, Sachin Tendulkar to name a few.

Additional Facts

Decreased Risk Of Certain Health Ailments

It has been researched that left-handed people have a lower prevalence of certain ailments such as arthritis and ulcers. Besides the fact that it is related to the underlying DNA, postal survey research was conducted, and it was found that left-handed are less prone to these conditions.

Better At GPS Navigation

Known for their multitasking abilities, lefties tend to have a knack for reading maps and remembering roads. According to a study by a group of researchers, it was observed that left-handed people showed a lower rate of errors in spatial orientation as compared to right-handed ones.

Recover Quickly From Brain Problems

Research data shows that left-handed people recover faster from stroke or brain traumas. It is believed that cognitive functions of lefties are spread out in the brain implying that in case of a stroke (which is concentrated in a small area of the brain), very little of one’s cognitive functioning will be affected.

Prefer Creative Stuff

Lefties tend to look for creative professions. They are good at all art forms and paintings. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Albrecht Durer, Peter Paul Rubens, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh have been renowned and famous left-handed artists