Why do scissors only work in one hand and not the other?
In: Engineering
The force you apply to the two handle pieces of a pair of scissors, isn’t a totally flat force parallel to the cutting plane. You’re also pushing with your thumb and pulling with your fingers laterally, to create a stabilizing pair of opposing sideways forces.
When you’re using the scissors in the correct hand, those opposing forces are directed so as to pinch the cutting edges together as they swivel. In the wrong hand, it splays them apart instead.
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