The Italians Valentino Rossi, Fabio Grosso, Gigi Riva, Giuseppe Rossi and Mariolino Corsi among the athletes;
Paola Turci and Marco Castoldi (aka Morgan) among the musicians.
And in the world?
Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, Jennifer Lawrence.
Leaders include Bill Gates, Steve Forbes, Henry Ford, David Rockefeller, Lou Gerstner (who was the president of IBM and now head of investment funds) and former US president Barack Obama.
The list of illustrious names that fill the ranks of
left-handed people, that is, of those who use the left hand in a prevalent way
, it is vast. The international lefthanders day on 13 August is dedicated to them. The anniversary was designed so that the peculiarity of using the left hand in a prevalent way is considered an extra resource and not a defect as was believed in the past. A preconception that seems to still provoke doubts and fears in the new parents of babies who prefer to suck their left finger from their first cry. Give him the hickey or let nature take its course?
To break down the clichés that still seem to persist in families all over the world, the original
International Lefthanders Day is born
, an event officially established by the London club Lefthanders International in 1992 and originates from a recurrence linked to left-handedness that dates back to 1973 - reads the association's portal lefsthandersday.com. "The soul of the anniversary is to spread the knowledge of the less widespread lateralization among the population, and its implications, both positive and inconvenient, related to daily life, - explain the creators who draw up a list of events related to the day focused on knowledge of objects, tools and musical instruments (also sold on the site) designed for left-handed people, especially those for children and for school.
In Great Britain for the anniversary many pubs set menus as if everyone were left-handed and the members of the association organize stands scattered around the region with the possibility of making right-handers use tools and musical instruments made for those who use the left. If being
proud of being different
is the intent of the day, the debate continues: teaching the littlest left-handed people to use stationery, pc mice or stringed instruments like the guitar designed for them would be an advantage or a further difficulty in a world organized for right-handers? There is still no single answer.
“Left-handed people have
better symmetry and communication between the two hemispheres of the brain
compared to the right-handers and this makes them faster to adapt in the face of unexpected changes and circumstances. This ability also facilitates them in having original ideas, a higher intelligence quotient and better eloquent skills ", proudly explain the members of the English club who unveil a list of numerous 'super' intelligent left-handed people who have stood up by demonstrating intellectual abilities and superior artists to others, such as Aristotle, Frederick Nietzsche, Alan Turing and Michelangelo, MC Escher, Matt Groening (the creator of the Simpsons). In addition to super athletes like John McEnroe, Pele, Martina Navratilova. And then again Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, Oprah Winfrey and Robert De Niro.
Meanwhile, a new analysis, published in the Psychological Bulletin, updates (and corrects) the world estimates on
prevalence of left-handed people, who have always been underestimated:
at least
9% of the world population
strictly use the left
and up to 18% of those who are 'ambidextrous'
therefore those who are comfortable using both hands. An increasing multitude and which is also surveyed more easily, perhaps also thanks to the recurrences, parties and local initiatives in favor of left-handedness and which help to break down commonplaces and preconceptions that in the past have led families and teachers to force all children to use the right hand.
