Happy Left-Handed Day! Five ways left-handed folk are really great

Previously labelled as sinister folk not to be trusted, left-handed people these days are somewhat more celebrated.

That and, despite living in a world that is very much designed for their right-handed counterparts – they have some pretty high-profile compatriots. 

Yup, from Barack Obama, to Prince William and Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates – if you're more inclined to use your left hand then you're certainly in good company. 

Here, SHEmazing brings you the FIVE really great reasons why it's actually the best:

 

1) You earn more money (if you're a man):

According to studies, left-handed males who have gone to university earn 13 percent more than their right-handed counterparts.

Although oddly the results are quite different for women: they earn 5 percent less than women who are right-handed.

2) Half of all cats are left-handed:

Anything from 10 – 30 percent of humans are left-handed (depending on where you are in the world and what research you look at) – but not so for felines.

Yes, 50 percent of cats are left-pawed, according to studies.

 

3) You're a natural leader:

Five of the last seven US presidents – Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford – are or were left-handed.

They're well-represented in royal circles too, examples include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William.

4) You have to overcome adversity:

From birth, you're being trained to think outside the standard right-handed box – something which helps you develop all sorts of skills that in turn encourages you navigate better the challenges of life. 

Indeed, a combination of environmental forces and neurobiology combine to make lefties predisposed to be trailblazers. 

5) You see better underwater:

Bizarre but true: when you’re underwater left-handed folk see better. It's not quite clear why this is so, scientists think it has something to do with a different part of the brain being dominant in left-handed individuals.