157

I got this information from an Instagram reel but ig refreshed and I lost the link before I could save it, so I googled the phenomenon and got an article that talks about it instead. The reel said that it happens in a lot of small things we don't think about like bumper cars, ice skating, most motorsports, mosh pits, etc.

The counterclockwise favoring has even been found in some animals too!

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[-] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 56 points 5 days ago

It's clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern.

[-] kbal@fedia.io 34 points 5 days ago

That could be more likely than you'd think considering this 2024 Ig Nobel prize winning research.

[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 31 points 5 days ago

My assumption for this would be that the majority of humans are right-side dominant. So they tend to lead with their right foot and their right leg is probably stronger meaning they tend to take marginally larger steps on the right leading to a counterclockwise gait

Similarly to the OP, I was told in Boy Scouts that if you're lost in the woods you need to stay where you are because if you do try to walk out you'll likely just go in circles and be harder to find

[-] QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works 26 points 5 days ago

The article didn't mention this, but the reel mentioned a study that left handed people had approximately the same rate of counterclockwise dominance as right handed people

[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

Oh interesting, I wonder if the cause is something else then? I do know a lot of left handed people end up learning how to do some physical activities right handed because it's easier but I doubt that would be enough to make their right leg stronger

[-] waterbird 8 points 5 days ago

someone further down linked a paper, and I think I found the answer?

‘For example, the reason for this tendency toward directional walking is diversely attributable to (1) an inapt spiraling mechanism in the nervous system that is used in the absence of vision (Guldberg, 1897Schaeffer, 1928), (2) biomechanicsand sensorial asymmetries, particularly hand and foot laterality (Day & Goins, 1999; Scharine & McBeath, 2002), (3) otolith system asymmetry from the fetal position (Previc & Saucedo, 1992), (4) hemispheric asymmetry of the dopaminergic system (Mohr, Landis, Bracha, Fathi, & Brugger, 2003Mohr, Brugger, Bracha, Landis, & Viaud-Delmon, 2004Mohr & Lievesley, 2007), and (5) sensorial signal interference, in which acoustic signals, such as unpredictable noises, and postural signals can lead to greater directional deviance (Millar, 1999).’

so you are partially right. also sorry for the way that pasted, I have no idea why. I’ll add a screenshot.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

i mean if i sit really really still i swear i can feel spin in my brain. mine is clockwise. not sure what that means, but my wife always backs a different way out the driveway than i do.

They tell you to stay put so that the bears don't have to walk as far for their meal

[-] the_disseminator@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago
[-] diabetic_porcupine@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Buddy, nothing can explain nascar

[-] baller_w@lemmy.zip 10 points 5 days ago

I think it’s because most people are right handed, often landing harder on their opposing foot, leading to a “rightward” bias, or counterclockwise.

It’s an issue with orienteering where people tend to walk in circles, even when trying to keep a straight line. This is where dead reckoning pays dividends.

[-] fonix232@fedia.io 12 points 5 days ago

That would be a leftward bias, a person constantly turning slightly left - which is CCW.

Turning right is clockwise.

[-] Professorozone@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Not when viewed from under the ground. I mean, come on!

/s

[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Right handed people are typically left brain dominant.

Turning left would protect the left brain.

[-] thejml@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 days ago

And your random British-ism of the week... its not "counterclockwise", it's "anticlockwise". Just saying.

[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

Go even more British and use windershins instead!

[-] Codpiece@feddit.uk 3 points 5 days ago

Given how far behind America is that might be contemporary.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Widdershins/withershins, no?

[-] Codpiece@feddit.uk 4 points 5 days ago

Counter clockwise is the service you get at the horologists.

[-] Darthcapi@lemmy.ml 7 points 5 days ago

Counter clockwise is clearly the best wise

[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Team wall clockwise represent!

[-] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)
[-] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I wonder if the earth were flat would we walk straight?

[-] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Personally I think it's the product of lizard person mind control trying to trick us into making crop circles so we conclude that the real threat are aliens from outer space. Well joke's on you, lizards! I know you're down there, and I'm gonna minecraft my way right down and mess up all your vile plans!

... oh, um. If you're serious, I doubt it. The earth can be made locally flat, we do that all the time for buildings and the like.

[-] confused@reddthat.com 4 points 5 days ago

I always assumed this was because we are conditioned to travel on the right side of a path/road in the US, since that's how we drive. At times when I'm walking more than driving, I meander around the sidewalk, but when I'm driving more, I stick to the right.

What if you're left handed?

[-] ytg@sopuli.xyz 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The finding held when the researchers accounted for people being right-handed, right-footed and right-eye dominant, and was seen in both male and female walkers.

[-] CatAssTrophy@safest.space 2 points 4 days ago

Combined with it having been demonstrated in other animals, I sorta wonder if it is ingrained somewhere close to a DNA level. All known life on earth has the same handedness to their DNA (left) even though it is physically/chemically possible to have DNA strands that are righthanded. I wonder if the handedness of the DNA strands have any impact on results in emergent properties that impact the natural trend around macro-scale drifting while moving.

[-] NahMarcas@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

You learn by force of collective, like handing hands with the right one

[-] butter_tart@piefed.ca 4 points 5 days ago

No, not deosil (sunwise)! Widdershins!!

Holy shit! I just realised I walk the dog around the streets in my area in a counterclockwise direction at least 90% of the time.

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

Yeah, they interviewed someone who talked about this on NPR the other day. Neat little tidbit.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

Really? I learned that people tend to walk toward whichever their dominant side is.

[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago
this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
157 points (100.0% liked)

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