If today’s paper looks a little backward, that’s the point.

We’re flipping things around in honor of International Left-Handers Day, a moment for all the lefties out there to enjoy the upper hand.

Every August 13, lefties around the world swap stories, compare survival skills, and maybe even find a pair of left-handed scissors that actually work. In a world designed for right-handers, it’s a rare day when the other side gets to call the shots.

Only about 10% of people worldwide are left-handed, though the number is closer to 14% in the Netherlands. Men are slightly more likely than women to be lefties, and twins have a higher chance of it, too. Four of the last nine U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, were left-handed.

Here at our county newspapers, we don’t just meet the national average, we beat it. More than half of our five-person team are southpaws.

“So thankful for my mom and my stubbornness. If not for both, I’d probably not be lefthanded. And in many ways, I’d be a whole different person,” Indian Journal legal and classified manager Daphanie Hutton said.

The challenges for lefties start young, figuring out how to hold a pencil without smearing ink, cutting a straight line with right-handed scissors, or finding a seat at the table that won’t lead to elbow wars. Around here, our office luncheons can look like a choreography of three lefties trying not to elbow their neighbors.

“I may be a leftie and a little crazy, but at least I’m in my right mind,” Democrat staff writer and office manager La-Donna Rhodes said.

Despite these quirks, being left-handed comes with surprising strengths. Researchers say lefties are often wired for creativity, divergent thinking, and quicker problem-solving.

In sports like baseball, tennis, and boxing, left-handers are overrepresented because opponents aren’t used to facing them. Many lefties process language using both hemispheres of the brain, a trait linked to flexible thinking. This might explain why so many famous artists and musicians, from Leonardo da Vinci to Paul McCartney to Lady Gaga, are left-handed. Lefties just approach things differently. That’s how our brains work.

And while the rest of the year lefties adjust to notebooks, right-handed desk setups, and can openers, today the balance tips our way.

So, in a normal day where you flip the newspaper right to left, this week we invite you to go against the grain and work the other side of your brain.

Here’s to all the lefties out there. Today, may you truly have the upper hand.