August 13th is International Left-Handers Day, which celebrates those who are left-handed. Even though 10% of the world is left-handed, it's strange to think about how it's only become "acceptable" in recent history.

Before the 1970s, left-handedness was associated with the devil or witchcraft. In school, children caught using their left hand would often be slapped on the hand with a ruler to "correct them." The acceptance of left-handedness grew as entrepreneurs created everyday items for left-handed individuals to profit from the lack of accessible products. Gradually, it became less unusual and therefore accessible. 

Life will always come with struggles for left-handed people living in a right-handed world. Struggles with everyday tasks, such as writing or opening doors, do not compare to how people were treated in the past for simply using their left hand. We've come a long way. In the future, we'll be able to look back and see how much farther we've come.

Sources:

https://time.com/3978951/lefties-history/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058267/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19142795/

https://www.almanac.com/content/left-handed-facts-and-folklore