With Brisbane suffering its longest lockdown in quite some time, it’s important to keep the mind busy.

We’ve got just what the doctor ordered: a celebration of left-handed people.

National Left-handed day falls in August.

The selection of Australia’s left-handed pride is actually quite a list. Sportspeople mostly, then entertainers, then Tony Abbott and Michaela Cash, ironically, according to Lefty.com.au.

It includes cricketers Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke, and Mitchell Starc. Remember when Gilly tore England a new one with the ball-in-the-glove trick? Classic.

The entertainers include Natalie Imbruglia, Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman.

But, with all due respect to the above figures, there are some bigger names.

In more recent history, Barrack Obama. He’s not the only office holder; Truman, Ford, Reagan, H.W, and Clinton are also leftys.

Former president of the USA Barack Obama signing documents with his left hand (Source: CBS News)

Does left-handedness help? According to Time “Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office”.

Beyond US politics, Oprah, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and Whoopie Goldberg, among others.

DaVinci is possibly one of the most famous to add to the list, along with some interesting attributes and theories:

He wrote right to left, or what has been called ‘mirror writing’ “named because you had to hold it up to a glass to read it”.

Some say this was to make it harder to steal his ideas. Let’s just go with that.

But one figure to trump them all, is small business owner, family man, devout Christian and fictional Springfield resident Ned Flanders.

I hope you enjoyed this read. Sincerely,

A right-hander.

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