What is the story of the clock whose hands rotate in the opposite direction?

ArabiaWeather - The famous clock is located on the facade of the Congress building in Murillo Square in the Bolivian capital, La Paz. This watch is the only watch in the world whose hands rotate in the opposite direction to the normal direction.

One of the unique and strange things about Bolivia is the clock on the facade of the Congress Building in Plaza Murillo in the capital, La Paz. This watch is considered unique, as it is characterized by its hands moving in a direction opposite to the normal tradition, and what is also striking is that its numbers are upside down, as if you were seeing their reflection in the mirror.

Originally, the Congress Building was built in the 1920s as the headquarters of the Bolivian Central Bank. At that time, the building's clock worked like any other traditional clock. However, in 2014, government officials decided to replace that regular clock with the current clock with the opposite movement. What is the secret behind this choice?

A clock that turns counterclockwise

David Choquianca, the former Bolivian Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave this watch the title “The Watch of the South,” with the aim of embodying the trends and characteristics of the Bolivian people, who are characterized by their “southern” character.

The Bolivian people are made up of several indigenous tribes, such as the Quechua and Aymara people, and while most of the world has the future as a goal to aspire to, these two groups have a different interpretation. Instead, they see the future behind them, and the past is something they long for.

They seem to place the past, the events of which they clearly know, before them, while the unknown events of the future are behind them, slowly revealing themselves and taking their place in the past. This seems very strange, doesn't it?

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who belongs to the Aymara people, has led several attempts to remove or weaken colonial influences on the nation.

Many speeches were heard about "restoring Bolivian identity", "returning to a new path" and "the intention to break the hegemony of the North".

At a press conference, David Chocohuanca, former Foreign Minister of Bolivia, stated: “Are all watches supposed to be the same? Why must we always be obedient? Why can’t we be special and unique? We do not seek to complicate things, but we wish to remind ourselves that we live in The south, not the north.

South hour...reverse time in Bolivia

In 2014, a Bolivian official announced to journalists that his country had provided left-to-right clocks specifically for foreign delegations participating in the G77 summit in Santa Cruz.

These watches are designed in the form of a map of Bolivia and include the currently disputed territory under Chilean sovereignty, over which Bolivia claims rights.

Regarding a question about whether the leftist government in Bolivia would promote the use of these reversed clocks, the minister stressed that it would not impose itself on people, and said: “If you want to buy a southern clock, do it, and if you want to continue using the northern clock, you can do that.”

The reversed clock is between supporters and opponents

When the new clock was installed, the opinions of residents of the capital, La Paz, varied regarding it, between supporters and opponents. Many residents of La Paz considered that a mistake had been made, while others welcomed the idea and stressed the importance of reversing all clocks in South America exactly like this one.

The obvious downside is that there will be a lot of confusion about time. Even those who are aware of the new system will have difficulty reading clocks the other way around.

Notable opponents included Samuel Doria Medina, who was a major rival to Evo Morales in the Bolivian elections. Doria Medina claimed that the revised clock was a sign "that things are going backwards."

Reversed clock and sundial

Some government officials decided that Bolivian clocks should run counterclockwise, justifying this by saying that the design of the clock was inspired by the sundial, a simple device whose invention dates back to the Romans more than 2,000 years ago, and which relies on the use of the sun and the angle of its deviation from the horizon.

The sundial included a circle with marks showing the hours between sunrise and sunset. In the center of this circle, there is a wooden leg whose shadow is cast on the marks, and as the sun moves in the sky, the leg’s shadow moves to indicate the time.

Sundials work differently in both hemispheres; The hour shadow moves clockwise in the northern half, and counterclockwise in the southern half. Thus, the La Paz clock represents the natural movement of the shadow in the Southern Hemisphere.

However, this situation cannot be generalized throughout the year, because the shadow does not move counterclockwise all the time in La Paz sundial, especially since it is located near the equator. The direction of movement changes clockwise (from left to right) during the summer months, and this continues for several months during the year.

Source: arabicpost