Why Clocks run in a Clockwise Direction

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.