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On Aug. 13 the nation paused to reflect on the hardships imposed on the 10% of the population that will be celebrating National Left Handers Day.
No, it didn't.
I fully understand that 89.4 % of the people reading this are likely snickering right now because they use the "right" hand to do everything.
I am proud of the fact that I don't.
Every left hander will tell you the same thing. We have spent a lifetime adapting to life in the right-handed world.
There was a time when teachers would try to get students who used their left hand to write to switch to the "correct" hand. I luckily enter school after that period. No one, including my parents, ever tried to get me to switch.
Since most of the people reading this are likely right-handed, here are some of the challenges we face every day.
Writing on paper is a challenge because we cannot see what we have just written. We also drag our hand over the fresh writing, leading to smeared ink and dirty hands. My handwriting is so bad that I even have trouble reading it sometimes. The kind of school desks that fold down are always a challenge.
Most business equipment and processes were designed for right-handed users. When you check out at a grocery store, the clerk is using their right hand to run the register and their left hand to drag the groceries through. Something that created challenges for me at my first job. The shutter button on cameras is always on the right as well, which affected me on the second job. I'm left eye - yes, it is a thing - which makes it a little crowded behind the camera.
When you drive a car, all the important controls are on the right side. Gear shift, console controls, the gas and brake pedals are on the right. The left hand gets to dim the headlights, a task that has now been automated in many cars. Several years ago, I drove a car in the United Kingdom. After decades of driving right-handed it was extremely awkward to shift with my left hand.
The only other daily task that I do right-handed is use a computer mouse because early computers did not have command keys on both sides of the keyboards as they do today.
I play all sports left-handed, which for elite athletes I understand is an advantage because it throws off the others playing the game. I have never been an elite athlete, so it has just meant that I am bit of an oddball when I play sports.
I also hold a fork left-handed. Left handers have to be careful where they sit because otherwise you will hit elbows with the person sitting next to you. I always sit to the left of my wife for this reason. Her brother is left-handed as well. For some reason they never figured the seating chart out, growing up hitting elbows for years.
There is some belief that left-handed people are more creative. I'm ok with that belief.
Seven of the last 15 presidents were left-handed, A high number considering the general population is about 10.6%.
Left handers have a special bond when they see another in the wild. A little like Jeep owners when they pass each other I guess, only without plastic ducks.
Perhaps we should start giving each other tiny pairs of left-handed scissors when we meet, or at least high-five each other with our left hand.
Art Smith is online manager of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and The Marietta Times, he can be contacted at asmith@mariettatimes.com