Why Right Is Right And Left Is Wrong: Historical Myths About Lefties

By | May 30, 2019

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A left-handed child writes on the French National Lefties Day on August 23, 2015. Source: (Photo credit DIARMID COURREGES/AFP/Getty Images)

If you are one of the 10% of people who are left-handed, you probably have had a lot of frustration due to your left-handedness. As a child, you may remember bumping elbows with your desk-mate at school. Or worse, having a teacher who tried to force you to write with your right hand by making you sit on your left hand. As an adult, you found that common objects—scissors, cars, measuring cups, and the credit card pin pad at the grocery store—are designed for right-handed people. It is annoying and inconvenient, but it could be much worse. Consider how lefties were discriminated against throughout history. 

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Source: (videoblock.com)

Lefties in the ancient world

Favoring the right hand over the left seems to be an intrinsic and instinctual belief because it is so widespread across cultures. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, for example, the two hands of their gods had opposing powers. A god’s right hand could bestow healing powers or provide a blessing, but the god’s left hand was used to cast a curse, destroy things, or cause harm. In images left behind by the ancient Egyptians, we can see that their enemies were often showed to be left-handed while the Egyptians were almost always using their right hands