On my way to work this morning, I did what most people do. Go through the redundant process of drinking coffee, eating a quick bite and placing clothing on my body after a hot shower. After baring the slight chill of the morning breeze, I sat down in my car and got that wonderful feeling of freezing cold against my skin of leather seats. As I drove down the highway to work on 880, (bouncing in and out of Bay Area traffic) I reached for a coffee cup that I brought on the road with me. Being that I’m left handed, I had to reach across my body over to my cup holder in the car to grab my coffee. It sounds simple, but it’s an extra nuisance for someone left handed versus a right handed person because of the extra reach. A simple thought crossed my mind, why aren’t there left handed cup holders? 

What happened next was a stirring of thoughts and an inventive mind set that I haven’t had in a while. What would the logistics look like for this? How could you place a cup holder on the left side of a door? There are small cup holders at the bottom side of driver side doors, but the convenience is lacking. It would be even more challenging to reach down into that weird gully on the side of the door for every drink of my delicious coffee. Could one be placed near the window? When I opened the door, would this cause a disastrous series of events every time I opened the door? If I could only find the right scenario, where I could place a cup holder on the left hand side without the fear of losing my drink with every stop along the way.

In the United States and over 160 countries, we drive on the right side of the road and we drive on the left side of our car. In all rationale, you would think that we could potentially be saying that the left side is the right side correct? In ancient Rome people steered their cart or chariot with their left hand, leaving their right hand open for their weapon of choice in case of attack.

Or do you want to go back to Egyptian times and the decision to wear a wedding band on your left hand? Back then, it was decided to place a wedding band on your fourth finger of the left hand. This was because they proposed that the “vein of love” ran from the heart to the fourth finger of the left hand. Wearing a wedding band over that finger showed the love or bond that two people shared. Further into history, King Edward VI declared that all couples should wear their wedding ring on this finger. It’s interesting to note that the hand that has been persecuted so much, has the vein of love attached to it? I wonder if there was any thought to this hand being used less for writing at the time. 

Being left handed back years ago could have been a death sentence. Often known as a witch or a devil worshipper for that matter. Left handed people were often persecuted. Anyone that is even of the age 60 and above currently, probably remembers being hit by a ruler in school at one point if they were using their left hand. Parents did everything they could to make sure that someone left handed would be taught to use their right hand. Can you imagine the thought of my neighbors thinking my child is handicap in some way because he uses his left hand? We can’t have that! In Latin sinister actually means “left” or “unlucky”. Well I’m a bit disappointed to find out that I automatically fell into the unlucky category when I was born! 

Ten percent of the population has actually persevered and remained left handed, which I actually believe to be an inaccurate number. Looking at the amount of people that were converted to using their right hand to write, I highly doubt that it’s only ten percent of the population that was born wanting to use their left hand in a dominant fashion. Yet it’s hard to look at this from a statistical stand point, when you would actually have to survey parents on what a child had as a dominant hand when he/she was born. Can you imagine going to parents and asking them to accurately tell you which hand their child preferred? It’s all left up to the parent deciding to be honest on if they chose to change their child’s preference of hand. If they were honest, would they get ridiculed for their decision? 

Success isn’t always determined by being right handed, especially if you are shooting for the president of the United States, which 5 of our last 8 presidents have been left handed! 

I will tell you growing up in a right handed world, has made me highly adaptable from the beginning. I wonder if left handed people are attributed with being more adaptable than the next. I will always have the issue of having difficulty cutting with scissors as they are engineered for a right handed person. I will also always have the challenges of writing and watching as my words smear or erase as I move my hand across the paper. It’s pretty easy in that frame of mind to see anyone that is left handed. Just have them write a story for you across a chalkboard. You’ll have to read it as they write, or you will have a blank board when they are finished! Thankfully for left handed people, we had the invention of computers! Of course, I know who thought of what side to place the mouse on! 

I look now at the 76 countries that drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. The cup holder is actually in the middle console. Does this make a difference? Would left handed people feel more at home in countries like England? Do right handed people actually feel segregated against or frustrated as they drive down the road? Can you image their frustration as they grab across their body for a cup of coffee? It brings some delight into my mind when I think about the possibilities. 

Yet I find myself in America, the land of left sided driving. I will just have to continue to adapt to a culture that is heavily revolved around a right handed person. I will always be the insult to the jokes of having two left feet or never be your right hand man. I will always be left handed and proud of it. The glory I had recently was the fact that I did find cup holders built for car doors. No more are the times of spilling my coffee as I reach across my body. I will leave it up to driving through pot holes or abrupt stops like a normal right handed person would do!