Have you ever wondered why clocks run in a clockwise direction? The definition of clockwise is the same direction as the hands of a clock. Clocks traditionally follow the same rotation as their predecessor: the sundial.  Early inventors were trying to make models of the suns' movement in the sky. These early clocks were invented in the northern hemisphere, today we know this region as Iraq! To watch the sun from this hemisphere you have to face south. Therefore, the sun would rise on your left and pass over your head to set on the left. As a result, the hands of the clock were designed to move left to right over the clock clockwise. The hands were modeled after the design of a sundial (a vertical stick or obelisk). It is described as a tall four-sided shaft of stone that casts as shadow.  Long time ago people realized that the earth revolved around the sun, so they knew when the sun was in a certain position what time it was. You probably are familiar with the notion that when the sun is highest in the sky, it is close to noon (high noon). Is it any wonder that when the watchmakers began to make watches to compete with sun dials, they make the hands of their clocks rotating clockwise as well? However, if clocks were invented in the southern hemisphere instead of the northern hemisphere, we would be watching the hands of our watches go from right to left!

Bonus Facts;

Before clocks were established people would use terms like “sun wise” and “deiseil”, instead of clockwise.

Early mechanical timepieces didn’t have hands. Early clocks signalled time with bells.

Venus is the only planet in our Solar system to rotate clockwise (called "retrograde" rotation). that this is due to the massive collisions during the early stages of its formations.

Sources;

http://www.lyberty.com/encyc/articles/deiseil.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus#Orbit_and_rotation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockwise#Origin_of_the_term

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