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For those of you who don't now, Sunday August 13th is International Left-Handers Day, so in homage to lefties everywhere, Bored Panda has compiled this list of annoying problems that all left-handers face on a daily basis.

If you're left-handed then you're probably aware that, whether you like it or not, this is a right-handed world. From scissors and desks to ring binders and ice-cream scoopers, everything seems to be designed with the righties in mind, which isn't really surprising when you realize that around 90% of the world's population is right-handed.

Still, there's a pretty impressive list of lefties crammed into that remaining 10%. Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Aristotle and Julius Caesar were all left-handed for instance? And let's not forget Albert Einstein, Neil Armstrong, Winston Churchill, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama. And Jimi Hendrix. And Kurt Cobain. And Paul McCartney. And David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Robert de Niro, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, and Jon Stewart, plus a whole bunch of other people we don't have the space to write about. If we haven't made our point yet then what we're trying to say is that, although left-handed people might be in the minority, that doesn't make them any less awesome, and some of the world's most important contributions have in fact come from left-handers.

Despite this however, non-righties have had a pretty hard time throughout history. The word "left" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "lyft", meaning "weak", and the word "sinister" actually derives from the Latin word meaning "left". Left-handers were also thought to consort with the devil, and being left-handed was sometimes considered proof that a woman was a witch and should therefore be persecuted or even executed! Fortunately those days are long gone though, and the only things left-handers have to worry about these days are using a can opener without making a mess, and trying to write without getting ink all over the side of their hand. Scroll down to see some other problems that the modern leftie has to face. Can you relate? Then let us know in the comments below and don't forget to vote. Happy International Left-Handers Day everybody!

#1

As A Left Handed Person... F*ck

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#3

Funny-left-handers-problems

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Sasy
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This just made me think of being tall, and getting all those 'What is the weather like up there' queries from smarty pants short people.

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#5

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Michel M. Prins
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Are you left handed?" and "How can you write like that?" Are sometimes a bit in the same percentages.

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#7

Silver Surfer Syndrome

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Daria B
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again, right handers are not spared the silver (and blue, when you use a pen) surfer syndrome.

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#8

Funny Left Handers Problems

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Daria B
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The notebook rings problem, I'd just turn the notebook upside down, because I don't care.

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#10

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Michel M. Prins
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And then when you say you're lefthanded, they just don't know what to say anymore

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#14

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Daria B
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We right handers get our pencils and pens on the side of our hands too. Yeah, no one's afe.

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#18

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Michelle Mendoza
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ooh you've never seen a left handed person in all your life? Do you get this surprised like this every time you see a left handed person use their left hand to write? Cause I still get grown people who are like this...

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#21

Funny Left Handers Problems

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varwenea
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those are not worth buying anyway. They don't cut into hard frozen ice cream well enough. Use the scoop/dipper kind or the wide-spoon variety; I have the latter.

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#25

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Michel M. Prins
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For everyone who uses a drawing tablet I advice to try to make it as easy as possible. I have 4 buttons and a ring. The buttons I linked to the functions: Undo (CTRL+Z), redo (Shift+CTRL+Z), brush (B), eraser (E). And for the rocker ring I did this: Brush size increase ( [ key), brush size decrease ( ] key), zoom in (CTRL + =), zoom out (CTRL + - And now everything goes a lot more easily for me personally. Maybe this will work for you too. rm-ip-tab-...1ea14a.jpg rm-ip-tab-default-598ffc81ea14a.jpg

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#27

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Rhon
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm right handed and I'm currently scrolling with my left thumb! Just being lazy!

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#28

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HauntedForests
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have this problem too, but I'm right handed. So, needless to say, I don't know how to properly use a can opener. I've even broken a few. :/

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Jane Van Balen
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Helps being a lefty on the tennis court... can be quite off putting to opponents who are more used to playing against right handers (even for other lefties!)

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#36

Maybe He Was Clever... Nope. Just Didn't Want To Get His Hand Dirty

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Šimon Špaček
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do you poor lefties know that Jewish write and read from right to left? Think about all those poor right-handed Jews!

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#37

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Yasna Minkovska
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a mother of a left handed kid, I've felt the same way, trying to use her lefty scissors :)

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Claire Smith
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a lefty and can't use left handed scissors! They didn't exist through my childhood (well not that I was aware of) and I'm so adapted to "normal" scissors that I canny cut a straight line with lefty ones!! 😂 😂 #firstworldproblems

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LeAnne Westbrook
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to learn to use regular scissors since we didnt have enough in kindergarden.

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morgan way
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah well i never GOT lefty scissors or knew they existed until i was nine years old and my fingers didn’t fit in the tiny holes. i still use right handed scissors with my left hand.

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morgan way
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i never got lefty scissors, i just had to use righty scissors with my left hand. also when i finally discovered that lefty scissors existed i couldn’t use them because the holes for your fingers are TINY

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Kira Moody
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Still can’t cut that wonderful because of those right-handed scissors even though I finally found some as an adult.

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Gwen Graham
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. Then tell the little kids how clumsy they are…. Bummer

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Rafal Balcerzak
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm 42. Lefty. I have never had a chnec to use left-handed scissors. WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH HAVING PROBLEM WITH "RIGHT-HANDED" SCISSORS???

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Jayne Rossetti
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You want to make a right handed person feel du b & inadequate? Hand them a pair of left handed scissors and ask them to cut stuff out.

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Noreen Kennedy
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Im left handed, but can only use a right handed scissors, left handed ones weren't around when I grew up

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Ruth Mitchell
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am left handed but I cut right handed because I grew up before the day of left handed scissors. Same thing with can openers and other things.

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Ingrid Kay
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m a lefty and as a teacher I find the left handed scissors for kids are c**p. I can’t use them at all. Much more success with rh ones.

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Trey Moran
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i learned to be a bit ambidextrous. in cosmetology school, the hair shears were all right handed. i tried using left handed shears but ended up being more comfortable with the right handed ones. i think i just learned to adapt well. except for the ink/pencil smudge thing. was super trippy in my art classes too, REALLY hard to use pastels.

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Lesley Watts
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m left handed and have always used right handed scissors. You just get used to things.

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John Johnson
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have never been able to use lefty scissors. I just turn regular scissors upside down.

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Linda Brohimer
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always use my right hand to use scissors. Many other things as well. You have to learn to adapt to a right handed world.

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Alida Saxon
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother's a lefty and it's funny because I ended up growing up being more comfortable using scissors left handed, from using her scissors all those years.

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WhiteFox
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah never really had that problem before. just turn the scissors the other way around it works still anyway

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Corey Benkelmann
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Until they stab you... Who's inadequate now? #leftyprobs #ontherun #wanteddeadoralive

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Sumien Van Eeden
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well actually as a left handed person in a right hand world i can use right hand scissors, use can opener and ice cream scoop ext. eat left and right hand, play pool left and right hand and as a teacher a can write with my right hand on the black board - it just took me a little more time to learn how. I learned at a young age to adapt as we didn't have left handed anything . My mom was left handed but they tied her left hand behind her back to force her to use her right hand (she is 72 now) - I am from South Africa

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Anita Holleufer
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my mom was going up, they used to smack left-handed people's hands with a ruler to "train" them to use the right hand. It's kinda like trying to "train" a gay person.

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Janlyn Seow
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only learnt the trick in my 20s when I found a book in parenting for lefties to solve 2 decades old problem for myself

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Stephanie Lester
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not allowed to use right-handed scissors in front of people because it's painful to watch. I'm also not allowed to teach kids to use them.

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Janlyn Seow
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Use mirror image by sitting or standing across or opposite a leftie. It works for me to learn this way from a right hander

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#38

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alexa pretchet
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me as a right-hander always thought, the designs are for the others, not for me (Because I already know whats on my mug so the design would cheerish the others). Having it on "my side" keeps confusing me a little bit...

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#39

Just Yet Another Leftie Problem

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Sk123 ILP123
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is it a thing where people only lift cups with their dominant hand, I subconsciously alternate between the two

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#40

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HauntedForests
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the reason for this is because it would be really cool to meet someone who is ambidextrous? That's my guess anyway.

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