h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My daughter,who is 10, is lefthanded, it has never been a problem for her luckily, she excels at school and doesnt let anything stand in her way.
She has always had the ability to use the righthanded things-i once bought her lefthanded scissors, and she was unable to use them. She does everything apart from write, with her right hand, but i feel that as she gets older she will need lefthanded equipment to make things easier for her, i have seen her struggle with tin openers and potato peelers. This is fine with me, every little helps yeah??, but why does it always cost more? I have just been looking at a site where a lefthanded pen will cost at least £7 more than a righthanded pen?,why is this?!

Unfortunately the answer to the question of price premium lies with the laws of supply and demand - and the economics of mass manufacture. Unfortunately, it is hard to find quality manufactuers who are prepared to stop their production lines, change the tooling and then run a comparatively small quantity of left handed product - unless you are prepared to pay the cost of downtime / etc / etc / etc.

Of course the laws of supply and demand also affect the retail marketplace and it is interesting to note that since we (www.ru-lefthanded.co.uk) entered the market some 4 years or so ago (and therefore added an element of competition to the market), the retail price of many items is now lower than it was 5 years ago!

It seems to me that the child mentioned above is not "truly" left handed if she already does everything but write with her right hand - which is lucky for her because this means she will be able to function perfectly well in a right handed world.
Personally, I'm very pleased to learn about a new source of left handed stuff, and I'll definitely be visiting that site.
The thing I find hardest on an everyday basis is right handed scissors - they dig into your left hand so badly!! And I'd love to take up woodwork as a hobby, but everyone is so amused when I say I want to learn the old fashioned way - you know, with a saw you can hold in either hand instead of some so-called "ergonomically" (for whom??) designed piece of equipment. And as for cameras...
One of the best inventions, for my money, is the PC. Yes I know it still has a slight rh bias, but really, compared to the rest of the world it's pretty near neutral.
Lastly, a friend of mine, while pregnant, was advised against a scan after a certain number of weeks because, and I quote it as she told me "late scans can lead to certain disabilities, such as left-handednes" (!!!)

My ass! I'm a leftie and I cope fine, although I do tend to automatically stand to the right of appliances such as the kettle to lift it with my left hand when I make coffee.

And my writing is terrible!

'...can lead to certain disabilities, such as left-handednes" (!!!)

Yes that sort of thing annoys me too. I teach in a school and there is a file in the staffroom called 'Barriers to Learning' which includes e.g. Special Learning Difficulties ( i.e. dyslexia), ADHD,ADD, Asperger's Syndrome and.... Left Handedness I keep meaning to rigfht a sarcastic remark in it. Since when has LH'ness prevented anyone learning or being successful. Has no one told them of Leonardo da Vinci, Richard NBranson, Paul NMcCartney, Martina Navratilova, Tom Cruise, Jackie Stewart.... .

i love the tone of the first post here....

'she's left handed, but by god, she's a trooper!!'

Not a direct quote, but come on, it's not exactly terminal.. or is it?