You know, that’s something I meant to mention.
Mice!
Computer mice, at any rate.
Hmmm; you know I still haven’t managed to ever ask any one if it’s computer Mice, or computer Mouses …
At any rate, I’m digressing.
I’m left-handed, and, for me as for many lefties, life can be a bit of a pain, at times. Things aren’t set up for us.
Scissors are a good example. Grab hold of a standard pair of kitchen scissor: they’re in the drawer, there.
You’ll notice that when you cut something with them, your thumb is the digit that’s moving the cutting blade, and that the cutting blade is the one that’s on the right-hand-side of the pair, and the one that is — if you will — the bottom blade of the pairª.
Obviously, with a ‘proper’ pair of left-handed scissors, the cutting blade is on the left hand side of the pair. They’re the mirror image of a right-handed pair, in other words.
There’s other things as well.
Again, little things, for the most part leap out at me in day to day life.
The ‘on’ button on my TV is on the left; the actual volume and colour controls …
Remote controls are laid out for right-hand useº.
The controls on the oven in my kitchen, and the door of my freezer, likewise.
Most European languages are written left to right. Very handy for right handers.
You take my point.
Because of the standard one button Apple Mouse*.
One that you didn’t have to fiddle about with, to switch to left-hand use; you just put it on the other side of the keyboard.
The equivalent of a right click was almost as easy, as well. Instead of using the extra button on a two button mouse, you just hit the ctrl button, when you did a mouse click. And it didn’t matter which ctrl button, as there’s two on every keyboard.
Now, granted, I’ve got my wired Mighty Mouse set up for two-button use. But for two button, left handed use. I love confusing people.
Actually, now I think of it, seeing the mildly confused look when right hander’s use a left handed mouse is fun too.
Especially when I tell someone to left click …
Just as a final point, there’s an interesting article from ABC news, here, an interesting site by E. Stephen Mack on lefthandedness, here. You can also read about this year’s International Left Hander’s Day, here.
* Pictured above are the current wireless Mighty Mouse, and the Apple Mouse that shipped with the Performa. Oh, and my left hand. Ummm …
º Something that doesn’t seem to be an issue with the older model iPod I’ve got, nor the remote control that shipped with the Mini.
ª A long time ago, I worked at Arnold’s Gift Centre, in Brentwood High Street; a shop that sold enough near anything. We had a sales rep in, once, from kitchen-ware company Brabantia. Complete the company’s latest product, their ‘left handed’ scissors. The boss got me to have a look at them, to see what I thought. I made a point of laughing. Derisively. The scissors in question were a ‘normal’ right handed pair … with left handed handles. And a fat lot of good to anyone. You can imagine, can’t you?
2 comments:
We are both left handed and that's why our marriage works!
Oh bless!!
I’ve only met one other couple — John and Gillian — who were both lefties. They had three kid’s,as I recall, only one of whom was right handed.
And very confused …
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