First observed in 1976, International Lefthanders Day seeks to raise awareness of left-handedness and the challenges caused by living in a right-handed world; educate designers and manufacturers to accommodate lefthander’s comfort and safety in new products and building design; celebrate the strengths and advantages lefthanders possess and dispel the superstitions and fiction that have surrounded left-handedness in many cultures for hundreds of years and which still create prejudice today; and provide the greatest possible range of tools and equipment specifically designed for lefthanders to use, making everyday tasks easier than lefthanders have ever experienced, and making a positive difference in their lives.

Experts observe that most left-handers draw figures facing to the right and that there is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed. Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child, like King of England George VI). Other interesting facts about lefthanders are that: they adjust more readily to seeing underwater,
and they excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming, and fencing.

There exists a long list of famous personalities who are left-handed. Among these are United States President Barack H. Obama (politics), Henry L. Ford (automobile manufacturing), Mark Twain (literature), Jimi Hendrix (music), Michelangelo (art), and our very own Rafael “Paeng’’ Nepomuceno (bowling) and Emmanuel “Manny’’ Pacquiao (boxing).

Lefthanders comprise only seven to 10 percent of the world’s population. Still, they constitute a very significant number whose needs are as valid as those of the other 90 to 93 percent of the global population.

Let us accord our lefthanders the comfort, dignity, and respect they deserve by addressing their needs. Educating the public on the scientific aspects of left-handedness to dispel whatever superstitious beliefs continue to prevail will go a long way in realizing this goal.