The Unluckiest City:
The bombing of Hiroshima came about when Japan refused the American ultimatum of unconditional surrender.
-The original target was the city of Kokura, not Nagasaki.
-The original attack date was August 11, two days later than the actual date of the attack. The additional two days might have given the Japanese government more time to consider surrendering, thereby avoiding a second atomic bombing.
The weather forecast was for nearly a week of overcast and cloud cover starting on the tenth, so the date was moved forward to the ninth.
With fuel running low, they headed for their secondary target of Nagasaki.
Their first pass over Nagasaki was unsuccessful, also due to cloud cover.
Due to low fuel, they decided to make just one more pass, and if it was unsuccessful they would head back to their base with the undeployed bomb.
Why do clocks run clockwise?
The definitive answer has been lost in the mists of time, but one theory is that clocks mimic sundials.
Sundials were used since ancient times in the northern hemisphere, where their shadows move in a clockwise direction.