National Left-Handers Day

August 13 was National Left-Handers Day, so I went online to research the holiday.  This is an international holiday that began in 1976.  Left-handers are sometimes called southpaws, which some people think began with left-handed pitchers.  So that made me wonder, did most baseball stadiums face west when this nickname began?

Some famous left-handers that we mentioned:

Barack Obama
Ronald Reagan
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander the Great
Buzz Aldrin
Jay Leno
Michelangelo
Da Vinci
Tim Allen
Kermit the Frog (really?  a puppet can be left-handed?)
Mark Spitz
Jimmy Conners
John McEnroe
Babe Ruth
Ty Cobb
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Shoeless Joe Jackson

And then two that we looked at a little more closely were artist Paul Klee and poet/writer Lewis Carroll.  We read a book on Paul Klee's history and looked at some of his artwork.  He loved patterns and used very simple design.  Then we read some of Lewis Carroll's poems, including some from Alice and Wonderland.  (One of these days, we'll get around to reading that book aloud.)

Some others that the adults reading this blog might think are interesting lefties -

Phil Collins
Both Everly Brothers
Jimi Hendrix
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
Carol Burnett
Charlie Chaplin
Robert DeNiro
Whoopie Goldberg
Cary Grant
Michael Landon
Robert Redford
Jerry Seinfeld
Dick Van Dyke
Oprah Winfrey
Dorothy Hamill
Terry Labonte
Larry Bird

Some of the tests you can do to see just how left handed you are (even if you're right handed to write) are:

Imagine the center of your back is itching.  Which hand do you scratch it with?

Interlock your fingers.  Which thumb is uppermost?

Imagine you are applauding.  Start clapping your hands.  Which hand is uppermost?

Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you.  Which eye does the winking?

Fold your arms.  Which forearm is uppermost?

These tests and others are from:

www.lefthandersday.com