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[-] Shawdow194@fedia.io 16 points 4 days ago

Also why clockwise?

Earth rotates and orbits counter clockwise. It just seems more right

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 79 points 3 days ago

To be fair whichever direction they made it go would be clockwise

[-] Devadander@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

True, but also it’s because of sundials

[-] mittyta@lemmy.world 69 points 3 days ago

Because Sundials rotate clockwise ( in north hemisphere )

[-] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Earth rotates and orbits counter clockwise.

No it doesn't. It depends on the human perception of "up" and "down" which are completely arbitrary. We by convention see the North Pole as the "top" of the world but it could as easily be seen as Antarctica.

[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Well, depending on which hemisphere you're standing in, at least. We arbitrarily set this idea that north = up in most depictions of the globe, but we could just as easily make Antarctica the top of the world and everything rotates the other way.

The reason why clockwise is what it is, is because sundials were first used to tell time in the northern hemisphere, where the shadows move clockwise. If it was in the southern hemisphere, they'd have moved counterclockwise (which would be clockwise).

[-] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Before the age of exploration, orientation of maps were random. North became the norm so Europe could be placed at the top center.

[-] bottleofchips 4 points 3 days ago

Well that depends on where you look at the earth from doesn’t it. It’s like saying ‘righty righty, lefty loosey’ which only holds true as long as you’re thinking about the top edge of the screw head.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Also why clockwise?

We read from left-to-right, so the front span of numbers continues that visual pattern.

[-] Devadander@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

The answer is ‘sundials’

this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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