THEY look like normal people, smell like normal people and even sound like normal people. They usually behave quite acceptably in public and can even hold down regular jobs.

However, left-handers have been persecuted throughout history like lepers, paedophiles and Manchester United footballers. It's no wonder they are more likely to (possibly) die early and suffer psychological problems.

Just take a look at some of the names this poor species gets called. They are commonly referred to as cack-handed and southpaws, and the word for left-handed is derogatory throughout the world.

The Greek, "skaios", means ill-omened, the Italian, "mancini", means maimed, while the French, "gauche", translates as clumsy. But the Australians win the prize for best insult with their splendid "mollie dooker", which involves having "fists like a girl." Charming.

The Christians also have a lot to answer for. The devil is, of course, one of the leading mollie dookers, while the Bible contains blatant anti-left hand propaganda.

The Good Book contains more than 100 favourable references to the right hand and 25 swipes at the left hand, and evil spirits are said to lurk over the left shoulder. God help you if you were a left-handed homosexual in biblical times.

Although this disease afflicts 10 per cent of the world's population, left-handers are still treated with suspicion to this day. When I dared to pick up a pen with my left hand at nursery school, my teacher wrote "left" and "right" on my hands to get me out of the habit, branding me like a criminal.

Luckily, I suffered only minor psychological damage as a result, and this practice is now a thing of the past. However, it is thought to have caused stuttering and dyslexia among many southpaws whose brains became hopelessly confused.

As Left-Handers Day approaches, it is now quite clear that this dogged persecution arose from sheer jealously among right-handers. We southpaws are so inclined by the dominance of the right hemisphere of the brain, which deals with creativity, art, perception and fantasy.

Right-handers, on the other hand (no pun intended), suffer from left hemisphere domination, which specialises in such dull areas as mathematics and logic.

So, left-handers are more likely to be creative geniuses. They are better at three-dimensional perception and have good

hand-to-eye co-ordination.

If you need more proof of their brilliance, think of any great figure from any point in history and the chances are they will be left-handed.

In football, Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff, arguably the three greatest footballers of all time, all favoured their left foot (Maradona was also partial to using his hand, of course).

In the world of music, Mozart, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix are all members of the

left-hand club. Unfortunately, Noel Gallagher and Celine Dion prove that the right side of the brain is not always so great.

Leonardo Da Vinci was cack-handed. So is

Bart Simpson. And, last but not least, there is Jeremy Beadle - though this may be from necessity rather than any organisation of the brain.

However, these supreme beings have always been heavily outnumbered by the logical, dull right handers, who have held their superiors back by forcing them to use right-handed implements.

Potential geniuses have been turned into laughing stocks as they wrestle with right-handed scissors and fight epic battles with corkscrews, which could explain why some scientists have claimed that southpaws are more likely to have psychological problems. Research in the past has also suggested that they live shorter lives than right-handers, although this has been disputed.

At least one right-hander is on our side, however. Mark Stewart, the owner of Worcester's Anything Left-Handed shop in Charles Street, is helping to make our lives easier by selling a large range of left-handed items.

"We sell a lot of scissors," he says. "That's the biggest problem area for left-handers. We also sell a lot of pencil sharpeners and pens.

"We stock everything from ladles to tape measures and we've recently started selling left-handed lawn edgers."

Lefties come to Mr Stewart with requests of all kinds to make their lives easier, with one of the more unusual being for left-handed, long-armed toenail clippers. There are even left-handed clocks, with the numbers and hands going anti-clockwise.

Another new item in the shop is a pen that doesn't smudge, but Mr Stewart says it's better for children to learn how to write properly rather than rely on this innovation.

"It's important to learn the right technique - left-handed children often have problems with their writing."

The shop has recently started selling a writing mat that teaches children the right way to write, but Mr Stewart has also been campaigning to get schools on the southpaws' side, too.

Since 1996, when he discovered trainee teachers were not taught how to help left-handed children, he has urged the Government to acknowledge the problems that left-handed children encounter at school.

In March last year, his campaigning paid off, with the National Literacy Strategy's publication of Developing Early Writing, which includes specific details on handwriting techniques for left-handed children.

Left-handers should not suffer in silence, says Mr Stewart.

"It's best to seek out products designed for you. Left-handers often struggle with an awful lot of things, and they are surprised when they find out how easy it can be. Don't be left out!"

n Left-Handers Day is Tuesday, August 13. Worcester's Anything Left-Handed shop will have a "Lefties Zone" on Tuesday, when people with either hand preference can try out left-handed items.