August 13 has become the “official” international birthday for being left-handed (see http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html).

According to a reputable US financial magazine, almost 40 per cent of dotcom CEOs are left-handed including William (just call me Bill) Gates III.

The story goes that when Bill was in fifth grade, his mother was that worried about him she decided to take him to a psychologist.

“What’s the problem?” he asked her.

“Well, I called Bill over the intercom to come to dinner and there was no reply, so I had to go and find out what he was doing. I found him staring at the wall. What are you doing, Bill? I asked. He replied, ‘thinking’. Thinking? I said. ‘Yes, thinking – have you ever tried thinking?’

James T DeKay’s book, The Natural Superiority of the Left-Hander, lists dozens of famous lefties and estimates that over 40 per cent of astronauts at that time were

left-handed.

Three recent US presidents have been left-handed (Reagan, Bush Snr and Clinton) and the number one tennis ace, Roger Federer met his match last month to left-hander Rafael Nadal.

There is a down side though – lefties have a very high incidence of poor mental health (their brain is wired slightly different and that’s why they are left-handed) when dealing with right-handers!

Their mortality rate is five times higher than right-handers and they live on average four to 10 years less than right handers depending on gender.

But according to other demographic data, lefties are fighting back because the percentage of them has been increasing over the last century.

Why? Evolutionary, my dear Watson.

So, if you come across a lefty who says he’s right, just tell him he’s talking through a hole in his head and you will be right every time!

So what do you think – are they evolution’s missing link?

For more on their takeover see http://www.lefthandersday.com/

Rex Grout

TAMWORTH