# Why no microwave ovens for lefties? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591 "2023-02-10T21:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/21 "2023-02-11T01:30:19Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > The one thing my husband does complain about is the dryer - which has the hinge on the right. But the problem with that isn’t really the hinge- it’s that the hinge is on the right side of the door _and_ the washer is to the right of the dryer. You do know you can reverse the dryer door to open to the left? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/22 "2023-02-11T02:56:41Z")
The person who has a problem with it knows , but for some reason he hasn’t changed it. I assume there is a reason but I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/23 "2023-02-11T03:01:34Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Almost nothing is made with those of us who are left-handed in mind, so why would microwaves be any different? Exactly. Cars and computer keyboards and washers and dryers and can-openers and iphones and, the list just goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/24 "2023-02-11T04:51:31Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > iphones How is an iPhone designed for a specific handedness? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/25 "2023-02-11T07:05:11Z")
> [@Amikejo](#): > > they can’t eat their mac and cheese As it happens, I just found this mac & cheese recipe that can be done on stove-top > **[Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stovetop-mac-n-cheese-recipe-1939465)** > > Get Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese Recipe from Food Network I was looking for things that my kids like, and that I can cook with them, but it avoids the microwave problem… probably not very helpful to the OP but it is an ambidextrous recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Amikejo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/amikejo/32/13637_2.png) [@Amikejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amikejo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/26 "2023-02-11T07:17:06Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > > [@Amikejo](#): > > > > they can’t eat their mac and cheese > > As it happens, I just found this mac & cheese recipe that can be done on stove-top > > [https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stovetop-mac-n-cheese-recipe-1939465](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stovetop-mac-n-cheese-recipe-1939465) > > I was looking for things that my kids like, and that I can cook with them, but it avoids the microwave problem… probably not very helpful to the OP but it is an ambidextrous recipe. Ambidextrous, does it? What if the stove is fitted with right-handed knobs? DOOMED! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/27 "2023-02-11T08:09:24Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > How is an iPhone designed for a specific handedness? Maybe which side of the phone certain buttons are on? (Not sure why that would matter.) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/28 "2023-02-11T08:13:01Z")
With only ~10-12% of the population being left-handed, my guess is that there simply isn’t enough of a market for manufacturers to invest in making two versions (right-handed and left-handed) of most products. And most wholesalers and retailers don’t want to take up extra shelf space stocking them, particularly if left-handers will buy the right-handed versions if a left-handed version isn’t available. Some left-handed products are made and sold of course, but these tend to be products that are small, easy to manufacture and stock, and are geared toward single users (e.g. scissors). The market for left-handed versions of primarily _multi_-user products (like microwaves) would be even smaller. If there is, say, only 1 left-hander in a group or family of 3 or more, they will most likely prefer the right-handed version, since 2 (or more) benefit, and only 1 suffers. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/29 "2023-02-11T23:51:11Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Maybe which side of the phone certain buttons are on? > > (Not sure why that would matter.) Two of the most important buttons on the typing keyboard are “Enter” and “backspace”, which are on the right hand side. ETA: As are all of the function keys for the calculator. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/30 "2023-02-12T19:11:26Z")
OP should consider supplying a countertop microwave IMHO if there is room. A few years ago I was considering a move to an apartment that was labelled handicap-accessible. The microwave oven was above duh regular oven. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/31 "2023-02-12T19:15:12Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Two of the most important buttons on the typing keyboard are “Enter” and “backspace”, which are on the right hand side. > > ETA: As are all of the function keys for the calculator. True, though I suspect that they are just mimicking the layout of a physical keyboard and calculator, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/32 "2023-02-12T19:16:48Z")
Sure, but that just follows on the comment I was responding to: > [@elfkin477](#): > > Almost nothing is made with those of us who are left-handed in mind, so why would microwaves be any different? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/33 "2023-02-12T19:25:12Z")
Another lefty here who has never minded the placement of microwave oven doors. It sounds like the real problem is that it doesn’t open far enough. And it might be a little more accessible if it opened the other way, but basically, if it opened all the way, as it should, it would have been accessible. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/34 "2023-02-12T19:34:23Z")
Yep, **puzzlegal** gets it. And, no, there’s not sufficient counter space to make a countertop model practical. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/35 "2023-02-12T19:47:59Z")
Is there room for a little table or shelf where you could put a microwave. Aside: My ex-wife and I referred to leftovers as “lefties”. Every time I see the title of this thread I think “well how else do you heat up leftovers?” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591/36 "2023-02-12T20:09:16Z")
In the kitchen, no. There is a pass-through to the living/dining area over the sink and dishwasher, but that’s really more suitable as a breakfast bar with a couple of stools (which I don’t have yet). Ironically, that space is currently being occupied by what **kaylasmom** and I used for thirty-five years as a microwave stand (she’d had a coworker build it for us as a home entertainment center, but it took him so long to finish that we bought one at the Navy Exchange, and plopped the microwave on top and all of our cookbooks in the shelves). It traveled with us from Hawaii, through several cities in Orange County, and is now with me in Portland, awaiting some disposition that will give me room to obtain an actual dining set. Anyway, if I can avoid it, I don’t want to even _think_ about dropping coin on a kitchen appliance before I’ve got a proper bed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-microwave-ovens-for-lefties/979591.md?page=1)