Left-Handers Day Celebrates Creative Minority

左撇子的庆典

What do tennis player Goran Ivanisevic and songwriter Paul McCartney1 have in common with Fidel Castro? Along with 10 percent of the world's population they are left-handed, according to Lauren Milsom, organizer of Left-Handers Day. “It is well-known that a lot of creative people were left-handed,” Milsom said. “Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix2 and Pablo Picasso are all among them.” But Left-Handers Day was not merely a celebration of the creative superiority of lefties. It is also aimed at raising awareness of the difficulties presented by a right-handed world. “It is not a disability, but most things are so tailored to the right hand. A lot of companies are not interested—they say it's a minority market and not commercially viable, but it's a big minority,” Milsom said from her stall, which sells left-handed corkscrews, can-openers and scissors.

　　网球运动员戈兰·伊万尼塞维奇、歌曲作者保罗·麦卡特尼和菲德尔·卡斯特罗之间有何共同之处？据“左撇子节”组织者劳伦·米尔索姆说，他们都是占世界人口10%的左撇子当中的一员。“众所周知，许多富于创造力的人都是左撇子，”米尔索姆说。“米开朗基罗、列奥那多·达·芬奇、吉米·亨德里克斯和帕勃洛·毕加索等皆在此列。”不过“左撇子节”不仅是一个关于左撇子优越创造力的庆典，其意义还在于使人们了解“右手世界”给左撇子们造成的种种不便。“左撇子不是残疾，只不过大多数东西都是为方便右手使用而设计的。许多公司（对开发供左撇子使用的产品）不感兴趣——他们认为这是个少数市场，从商业角度看不可行，其实这个少数市场并不小，”米尔索姆在她的货摊上说。她在那里出售左撇子用的瓶塞钻、开罐头器和剪刀。