The Right Hand for the Job

The bubonic plague ravaged much of Europe during the 14th century due to the prolific spread of bacteria and viruses. Today, we have become much more conscious of the benefits of keeping better hygiene, such as; not poking dead bodies and then having a sandwich after, but rather, washing our hands often and definitely before a meal. In fact, many of us have even prided ourselves on how much of a germo-phobe we have become and carry portable hand sanitizer everywhere we go [as I read the last half of that sentence in my Mary Poppins voice (reread for the full effect)].

But what do you do in the instances when your magic chalice of Purell isn’t available? Well, living in NYC for a few years, grabbing the same grab-rail as millions before me on the subway and the hundreds of door knobs each day has taught me a clever trick. It is all about using the right hand for the job, almost literally.

Society has already dictated that we shake hands exclusively with the Right hand, and by right hand (in this instance) I am talking about the hand that is on your right side as appose to on your left. So be default, this will also become the hand in which you will interact with the rest of the world. In other words, you should make your Right hand the hand in which you: shake the hands of people, open doors with, grab onto hand rails with, push elevator buttons or do any other activity that will pick up the germs of the outside world.

In contrast, your Left will then become the hand in which you attend to yourself with. In other words: feed yourself, rub your eye, pick your teeth or blow your nose exclusively with your Left hand. Not only does this keep you from ingesting the countless germs you picked up with your Right hand, but also keeps you from passing on your own germs to others if you used your Left hand for personal care.

Another benefit is seen in the fact that, for the majority of people, the Right hand is already the dominant hand. So hanging on for dear life as subway or bus pulls away with your Right is much easier than with your Left. And well, if you are sinister (left handed people get this) you are ahead of the world in becoming ambidextrous.

So there you have it, another genius article from your friend,

Michael Poppins Grey