text: Note that the direction of the written language has nothing whatsoever\n   to do with the way clocks run.\n   \n   The clock is a mechanical timepiece modeled on its predecessor, the\n   sundial. North of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun affects the sundial in\n   the following way:\n     * Sun rises in the east: shadow falls in the west.\n     * Sun, at noon, is south: shadow falls in the north.\n     * Sun sets in the west: shadow falls in the east.\n       \n   The shadow moves in a W to N to E rotation, which is what we call\n   "clockwise." When mechanical clocks were invented, this rotation was\n   duplicated. Regardless of the direction of your written language, the\n   clock hands move the wrong way half the time!\n   \n   South of the Tropic of Capricorn, a sundial moves counter-clockwise,\n   and between the tropics, the motion of the shadow depends on the time\n   of year. Had the clock been an invention of South American Indians or\n   Southern Africans, "clockwise" would likely mean the opposite\n   rotation.