If you find your home or office turned "back to front" on Wednesday, it's probably the work of the Lefties - not the political ones, but your left-handed colleagues and friends.

Wednesday marks the 11th anniversary of International Left-Handers' Day and left-handers will be declaring their homes and offices "lefty zones", where right-hand dominance, for once, will be banned.

The 28 000 members of The Left-Handers' Club will be talking of how frustrating it can be living with right-handers.

Organised by the International Left-Handers' Club, the light-hearted purpose of Left-Handers' Day is to create awareness among the right-handed majority that right-biased design - of everything from scissors to sinks, cheque books to computer mice, musical instruments to microwaves - causes problems for the 13 percent of the population who use their left hands for most tasks.

Visitors to the website www.left-handersday.com can win prizes playing a host of games and activities online, including Celebrity Treasure Hunt and Sinister Quiz, that reveal the fascinating background of this once-forbidden trait, and also highlight the strengths and attributes of left-handers.

Mercury editorial assistant Liz Swart, who is proudly left-handed, said: "My mother tried to teach me to use cutlery like right-handed people do, but I always switched hands.

The most difficult task, I find, is teaching a right-handed person to do things. My daughter is right-handed and it's going to be difficult to teach her to sew."

For reporter Thobani Ngqulunga being left-handed is a source of pride because "some of world's best soccer players are left-handed".

"My grandfather and some of my uncles are left-handed, so in my family it's natural," he said.

"My mother tried to make me use my right hand, but it never worked. I'm a slow writer and the teachers at school thought it was because I'm left-handed.

"International Left-Handers' Day is a good idea because it will help to raise awareness and highlight stereotypes," he said.

Famous left-handers include former American presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.

Other well-known lefties are Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Prince Charles and his son William, Fidel Castro, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, cartoonist Matt Groening and his creation, Bart Simpson.

Authors Lewis Carroll and HG Wells were left-handed, as were musicians Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix. Other left-handed musicians include Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, Seal, George Michael, Ringo Starr, Paul Simon and Natalie Cole. Michaelangelo was left-handed, as were artists, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.

Lefty actors include Amitabh Bachchan, Matthew Boderick, his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charlie Chaplin, Tom Cruise, his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, Robert de Niro, Whoopie Goldberg, Cary Grant, Betty Davis, Angelina Jolie, Marilyn Monroe, Luke Perry, Robert Redford, Matrix star Keanu Reeves, Julia Roberts, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Christian Slater, Slyvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.

Left-handed sporting personalities include

Brazilian soccer star Pele, Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly, boxer Oscar de la Hoya, Formula One champion Ayrton Senna and tennis stars Goran Ivanesivic, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova.