is it the left side or the right side that you have to turn clockwise to loosen the pedal? thanks

when you tighten pedals...its always towrd the front wheel ,so when you loosen pedals its always toward the rear.........B

I always remember it by thinking about the reason why they are different in the first place: to prevent the possibility of unscrewing a pedal while pedalling forward.

So, pedal forwards to tighten, backwards to loosen.

My method for remembering the direction are these whether it's about the pedals or the bottom bracket.

Sprocket side:
tighten clockwise, loosen counterclockwise.

Bottom Bracket (access) side:
tighten counterclockwise, loosen clockwise.

Righty tighty lefty loosey for right hand threaded items (wheels, headsets etc).

Pedals, BB, etc. are left hand threads so just reverse the saying lefty tighty and righty loosey.

AB