Lefthanders Day! Ten Little Ways the World Is Designed for Righties

Happy Lefthanders Day, celebrating the 1 in 10 people who have it just a little bit harder in life.  Unless you’re a lefty, you don’t notice how many little things are designed for right-handed people.

You know the big ones, like scissors and can openers.  But here are a few more things that are like a middle finger to left-handed people . . .

1.  Zippers on jeans.  The flap covering the zipper is on the left.  So it’s nearly impossible to zip with your left hand.

2.  Credit card machines.  The swiper is always on the right.  And if there’s a pen, it’s tethered to the right side of the machine, just like the pens at banks.

3.  Measuring cups.  If you hold one in your left hand, you’re stuck measuring in milliliters instead of ounces.

4.  Car fobs.  The kind with a key that opens like a knife.  The button is always set up for righties.  Lefties have to open them upside down.

5.  Microwaves.  If you push the button to open it with your left hand, the door hits your arm.

6.  Rulers and tape measures.  If you use a tape measure left-handed, the numbers are upside down.

7.  Power tools, like chop saws.  The handle you pull down on is on the right.  If you want to use it lefty, you have to cross your arms and reach over the blade.  Not safe.

8.  Novelty coffee cups.  If there’s only printing on one side, it faces out for righties, so other people can see it.  For lefties, it looks blank to other people.

9.  Playing cards.  A lot of them only have numbers in two of the four corners.  So you can’t see them well when they’re in your left hand.

10.  Serrated knives.  Even a lot of lefties don’t know.  The teeth are set up to offset the tendency to twist clockwise with your right hand.  So lefties tend to cut things like bread thinner at the top and fatter at the bottom.

(Reddit / BI)