Ever wonder why clockwise and counterclockwise are the directions they are? It all has to do with the motion of the Sun. 

On Earth the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. If you are in the northern hemisphere, the Sun will make this east-west journey to the south of you. As a result, the shadow of a sundial will move clockwise over the course of the day. Clockwise motion is the motion of a sundial. So counterclockwise is against the sunward motion, or widdershins as it is sometimes known.

Of course in the southern hemisphere the Sun takes a northern path from east to west. The shadow of a sundial therefore moves counterclockwise. Since our standard of clocks originated in the northern hemisphere, so does our notion of clockwise.

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