Myth Busting || The Reason We Wear Wristwatch On Left Hand

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We all wear watches. Well, there might be a few who don’t but still, they cherish it in their minds.

But the question is, which hand do you wear it on? Left or right?

Left is it for the majority.

Okay, I used to wear it on my right— well, only to impress girls and seek their attention though. That too was long long ago, when I was a teenager. That doesn’t count, right?

Yeah, it shouldn’t.

The interesting part is, most people don't know why they do that. Why do they wear it on their left hand? Did you ever think about it? Nah? Let’s explore what’s behind it.

In one survey, many were asked.

So, what was the outcome?

“I have seen many wearing it that way, so, I did the same.”

This was the answer majority opted for.

But what does history say about it?

The body plays a crucial role here— as the study has shown. The boys are supposed to wear watches on the right hand and girls on the left hand. But what do we see in reality?

No one obeys this rule!

Why not?

That’s another fun thing to ponder about.

History has shown that when watches were introduced, most people kept them in their pockets. For this reason, the pocket watch was very popular at that time. At that time no one had any idea about the watch that can be worn on the wrist.

However, during the Boer War (South African War), a group of soldiers began to wear a watch strapped to a leather strap. Their main goal was to document every minute of military operations. And to do so, it was very difficult to take the watch out of the pocket every time they had something to take a note to.

And that's how it started. But it was not so popular among the masses at that time.

But why on the left hand? What’s the reason behind this?
Well, it all started from the left hand for military purposes. Almost from its birth. While it may be engraved as an “unintentional” reason, the most dominating reason is its fragility.

The wristwatch invented at that time was very large. Fragile as well. The easiest way to protect them was to wear them on the less dominant hand to keep them away from frequent exposures. This way, they protected it from getting hit and unwanted breakdown. And to be honest, it’s less risky for wristwatches. I mean, look at you. Your wristwatch is well protected from odds in your left hand. Move it to your right hand and you’ll hear that clangour sound while eating your lunch.

And that’s it.

The trend and tendency to keep it protected is still running without any major changes. Like, you never see a man wearing his wristwatch in his leg, right?

Also, it’s backed by science. When you are working with your right hand, you must stop it to read the time. Otherwise, you’ll just run after those hour marks more than necessary. So, eventually, over time, it has become a necessity rather than a trend or tendency.

Our brain has a significant part in making this habit of wearing watches on the left hand a lasting one. When you are doing the same thing over and over again, your brain creates a separate server that stores that memory. The next time you want to do it, the brain will automatically make it happen without even you noticing it consciously.

Lastly, we, the humans love imitating others. And in most cases, we are good at that. So, when we are observing thousands of others around us wearing it in our left hand, our psychology considers it as the “must-do.” This is how we are moving forward to endless potentials. While some avoid it, the majority of us find comfort doing so.

That’s all for today.

Happy wearing wristwatches on your left hand.

Take love 💙🖤💜🧡💛💚💗