{"id":16911,"date":"2010-03-15T09:47:19","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T16:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=16911"},"modified":"2010-03-15T09:47:19","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T16:47:19","slug":"safety-tips-for-lefties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/03\/15\/safety-tips-for-lefties.html","title":{"rendered":"Safety tips for lefties"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_16912\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16912\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/leftorium.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16912\" title=\"leftorium\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/leftorium-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Come on diddly-down-over to the Leftorium!\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/leftorium-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/leftorium.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16912\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Come on diddly-down-over to the Leftorium!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Forwarded on from my company&#8217;s IT safety council &#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Are you a lefty? Do you put up with doors, sinks, computer mice, keyboards and desks that are made for right-handers to work at? \u00a0Every day contorting yourself using back-to-front tools and gadgets that make you look clumsy and awkward in your efforts to make them to work?<\/p>\n<p>Today the environment of our world strongly favors the right-handed majority. Studies have documented that left-handers are more prone to unintentional injuries, head trauma, motor vehicle accidents, and increased sports injuries. Left-handed industrial workers are 5 times more prone to finger amputations than right-handed workers.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2446422\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Many of the problems left-handers face are everyday implements such as gearshifts, scissors, and can openers, which are biased toward right-handed use. Even in their homes the left-handers are forced to accommodate to everyday items such as spiral-bound notebooks with the spiral on the \u201cwrong\u201d side, electric irons with the power cable protruding on the right, corkscrews, light bulbs, garden secateurs, and potato peelers.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2446422\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In and out of the workplace, left-handers have to take into consideration the extra risks of performing certain tasks when left-handed equipment isn\u2019t available. Here are some things to think about in order to keep it safe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Slow down:<\/strong> take your time performing a task that may  present risks for a left-hander<\/li>\n<li><strong>Assess the situation<\/strong> (situational awareness):\u00a0 for instance, be careful not to burn yourself  reaching for a coffee pot with the handle on the \u201cwrong\u201d side<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tool  Placement \/ Selection:<\/strong> scissors and knives especially can create  risks:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">\u2013\u00a0Left-handed\u00a0<strong>scissors<\/strong> have the blades reversed so the top blade is always on the left so that you can see your cutting line and the natural squeezing action of your hand pushes the blades together so they can cut like a guillotine rather than pushing them apart so the paper bends between the blades.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">\u2013\u00a0Getting a proper left-handed\u00a0<strong>bread knife<\/strong> with the serrations on the right side of the blade so it counteracts the natural twisting motion of your hand as it should rather than reinforcing it.<\/p>\n<p>Power tools (hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, weed eaters and even miter boxes) are often made to be used by right-handers.\u00a0 Lefties need to take time and precautions to reconfigure equipment or protect themselves from less-than ideal ergonomics.\u00a0 Righties need to keep these subtle yet very real risk factors in mind when working with the left-handed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Though left-handed, I was taught to use right-handed scissors as a kid (thank goodness).\u00a0 Never heard of a left-handed bread knife.\u00a0 And I&#8217;ve adapted to having the mouse on the right.\u00a0 But, yes, there are a lot of things that remain right-handed orientated, and, as the amputations stats show, that can sometimes be dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forwarded on from my company&#8217;s IT safety council &#8230; Are you a lefty? Do you put up with doors, sinks, computer mice, keyboards and desks that are made for right-handers to work at? \u00a0Every day contorting yourself using back-to-front tools and gadgets that make you look clumsy and awkward in your efforts to make them &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/03\/15\/safety-tips-for-lefties.html\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Safety tips for lefties&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-jollies","category-personal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/leftorium.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":127503,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/08\/13\/happy-left-handers-day.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":0},"title":"Happy Left Handers Day","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 13-Aug-15 9:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm dominantly left-handed, and write that way, but was taught right-handed scissors (thank God) and golf. I also do some funny things with my dinner utensils. Overall, it's not been too great a hardship in my life (no nuns with rulers or anything like that), which means I can just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10206,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/08\/11\/i_guess_thats_w.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":1},"title":"I guess that&#8217;s why they pay me the big bucks","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 11-Aug-06 1:20pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Left-handers make more money than right-handers. Left-handed men with at least some college education earned 15 percent more than similarly educated right-handers, while those who finished college earned about 26...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Job Jollies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Job Jollies","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/job-jollies"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28903,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/13\/a-sinister-event-indeed.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":2},"title":"A Sinister Event, Indeed!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 13-Aug-12 12:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"International Left-Handers Day. \u00a0Woot!(A simplistic news story, but fun none-the-less.)Reshared post from +Mark MeansLefties!Happy International Left Handers Day to all my left handed friends out there.The interesting article below fails to mention that left handed people hear music better than their right handed counterparts, but it's a good read anyway\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38452,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/08\/13\/a-sinister-touch-for-your-day.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":3},"title":"A Sinister Touch for Your Day","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Aug-13 9:07am","format":false,"excerpt":"Come the Revolution, don't be LEFT OUT!Reshared post from +Mark MeansLeft is Right!Happy 'National Left Handers Day' to all my left handed peeps out there.If you're a lefty, I'm sure you can remember your schooldays of writing with a pencil and getting lead on the side of your hand....or trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13120,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/07\/16\/fight_for_your_lefts.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":4},"title":"Fight for your Lefts","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 16-Jul-08 9:28am","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was in high school, I had an expository speech I did at speech contests about the superiority of left-handers (ahem). It was more than a bit tongue-in-cheek, mind...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health Science&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health Science","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/health\/health-science"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5357,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/04\/01\/form_factor_fli.html","url_meta":{"origin":16911,"position":5},"title":"Form factor flip","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 1-Apr-04 10:26am","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, being a left-hander, I don't mind reasonable accomodations to my, ah, handicap. There are, in fact, design issues with some items that make use of them by left-handers less...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hi-Tech&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hi-Tech","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/hi-tech"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}