I'm Left Handed.... What's your superpower?

Ever wondered where my business name “South Paw Studios” comes from?

Just like my business tagline “Left-handmade. Right-mind Designed,” “South Paw” refers to my left-handedness. It's a baseball term that describes players that pitch with their left hand. I like to think that my left-handed craftsmanship + my right-brained creativity make a great combination.

I am proud that I'm a southpaw. Only 10% of the world’s population consists of us, but we’re a mighty minority – despite living in a society with machines and tools designed to favor the right-handed. There's even a Left-Hander's Club you can join that celebrates all things “lefty.”

August 13 is National Left-Handers Day. I have been known in the past to host a special “subscribers only” store-wide sale on that day! But Shhhhhh... it’s a secret and you have to be on the list to be notified to get the exclusive discount code.

Today, I thought it would be fun to post some fun facts and trivia about my fellow southpaw community.

Left-Handed, Right-Brained Dominant:

Southpaws tend to use the right side of the brain more than the left. People who are right-brain dominant are more visual – preferring to learn from a picture book over a lecture. We're also more likely to remember someone’s face rather than names (embarrassing at times, but SO true for me). Impulsive decisions rather than mapped-out plans (not in my case, I am very much an "organizer type"), throwing out the instruction book and just winging it are all common to a right-brained person.

Innovative Left-Handed Thinkers:

Right-brainers are creative thinkers. Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin were both left-handed and right-brained, creating some of the most important inventions in history. They didn’t even finish school, because schools then didn’t cater to right-brained students. Edison constantly questioned his teacher, and Franklin was failing arithmetic. Edison went on to invent the modern light-bulb, the phonograph, and a plethora of other modern marvels. And, not only was Franklin a founding father of the USA, he invented the lightning rod, bifocals, swimming fins and even penned America’s first newspaper political cartoon.

Prominent Port-siders:

Some significant figures in history and I have something in common. We’ve probably all smudged ink on our left hand as we’ve written on a page, since western society writes from left to right. Among my inky-handed ranks are President Barak Obama, Babe Ruth (photo courtesy of Carlos Cappaticci), Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Gandhi and Bill Gates. One notable lefty that avoided inky hands was the artist Leonardo Da Vinci. He wrote from right to left!

I hope you learned something new about lefties. I love southpaw facts so much that I’ve created a Pinterest board dedicated to the art of being left-handed. Come take a peek!

Do you have a quark about being left-handed that was annoying growing up? Are you a southpaw your self? Share the love + leave a comment below.