International Left Handers Day is an international day observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals. The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of the Left-handers Club. This day was established to raise awareness about the challenges and experiences faced by left-handed individuals in a predominantly right-handed world.[1][2]
International Left-Handers Day | |
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Date | 13 August |
Next time | 13 August 2025 |
Frequency | annual |
The holiday celebrates left-handed people's uniqueness and differences, a subset of humanity comprising seven to ten percent of the world's population.[3] The day also spreads awareness on issues faced by left-handers, e.g. the importance of the special needs for left-handed children, and the likelihood for left-handers to develop schizophrenia.[4][5]
Several media outlets and commercial associations have made one-off posts and compilations of accomplished left-handed people in recognition of the holiday.[6][7]
Further reading
edit- Flatt, Adrian (October 1999). "The sinister handed". FRCS BUMC Proceedings. 12 (4): 267–271. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- O'Brian, Bill (13 August 2006). "For One Minority, a Bias That's Just So Not Right". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
References
edit- ^ "International Left-Handers Day: Here Are Some Famous Lefties". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
- ^ A 1983 newspaper feature cites that year's observance as the "seventh annual": Waga, Phil. "In the World of Lefties, Nothing Seems Right." Yonkers (NY) Herald-Statesmen, 12 August 1983.
- ^ Scharoun, Sara M.; Bryden, Pamela J. (2014-02-18). "Hand preference, performance abilities, and hand selection in children". Frontiers in Psychology. 5: 82. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00082. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 3927078. PMID 24600414.
- ^ "Left-handed people more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia: Yale Study". Yale. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ "The New Neuroscience of Left-Handedness". Psychology Today. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ Left Handers Day - Behind the News, 9 August 2016, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-05-21
- ^ Happy National Left-Handers Day!, 13 August 2019, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-05-21