Well it’s because noon means nine because the day starts at six o’ clock, so three is noon, but we use it to mean twelve which is closer to midday, obviously
this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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Hour hand -> hour = n
Minute hand -> minute = n * 5
It makes sense, there's just an algorithm attached to each pointer.
Hour -> 3 = 3
Minute -> 3 = 3 * 5 = 15
Relatively funny but gets worse the more you think about it.
The 6 stands for 6, not 30.
When we have AM and PM it would be dumb to have 1-24.
1 is the end of the 1st hour. 2 the end of the second. This is why it starts at 0.
0
She's a witch!
The 6 means 30, both of which also mean 1/2
Somebody never had a clock with roman numerals and it shows
I remember getting into an argument with a grade school teacher over IIII because most such clocks put that for 4 instead of IV because of some fuckin reason
I despise these so so much. IIII was historically NEVER correct. Some doofus decided to put that on a clock because it looks more symmetrical with the VIII on the other side. Terrible reasoning.
Weird, I've seen many analog clocks with Roman numerals but always IV for 4.
To be fair, Google searching Roman numerals clocks give you about a 50/50 distribution.
I wasn't aware of this either and I suspect we're not alone. It's not highly noticeable and if there's a 50-50 chance won't even see it...
It's actually called the "clockmakers four" or "watchmakers four." it's a thing.
Yeah I looked it up and saw it is a thing, and it's interesting. I wonder if the clock I'm thinking of was just a really cheap one that was labeled as you'd expect based on Roman numerals or whether some just didn't follow it.
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Somebody gave me this clock…I just need the time.
piece of art
ten ten
Clocks should use 24h format. AM/PM is completely useless.
No it's not, with a 12h format on an analog watch you can use the sun to find true north. It is also easier to read it when the hands have double the amount of degrees to indicate the number.
How do you find north on a 12h face that wouldn't work with a 24h face? Because the method I know, requires correcting for the 12h circle.
How the heck do you find north based on your watch? I’m pretty good at knowing where north in based on where I am.
I live in north Manchester so I know Manchester is south. Or I can look at the sun if not midday and figure it out.
How the heck do you find north based on your watch?
I live in north Manchester so I know Manchester is south
What if you go on a trip to Thailand and get turned around in the jungle?
Or I can look at the sun if not midday and figure it out
That gives you a very approximate direction.
Thanks.
I don’t generally go places like that, but if I needed to be aware of north I would take a compass.
Still good information though.
It's the same method.
The distance between the sun and 12 is divided by two, because the clock face only shows half the day.
If we had a clock with 24 hours in the circle and used the same method, it'd be the same as pointing at the sun and saying: South is where the sun will be at noon.
The french:
Goddamn metric time
Why the 'IIII' insted of 'IV'?
Prevents confusion between the four and the six: III, IV, V, VI, when the watch is not held perfectly vertically for viewing.
Actually very common in watches with roman numbers iirc
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IIRC they counted the bones in their fingers using their thumb and that gives 12. The first sundial was around the equator and there is always light for half a day, so half a day becomes 12 hours.
To count large numbers often one hand was used to count using 5 fingers and the other to count the bones, so you get 5x12 for 60 minutes.
AIUI there was an aspect in the divisibility of the numbers being convenient.
12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30.
10 is divisible by 2 and 5. 100 is divisible by 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, and 50.
If you want to minimize dealing with fractions, 12 and 60 are far more convenient than 10 and 100.
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Don't listen to OP's bullshit.
They work for big clock. They're trying to convince you 12 hour clock is useless so they can sell you double the clock.
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When I become dictator of the world, this will be the new time unit: https://metric-time.com/
The year will also have 13 months: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fixed_Calendar
The year will be 12025: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_calendar
Because these things just make more sense. You will thank me after a few generations, because habits are hard to change.
I'd love to have a 13-month calendar.
Seems a bit odd to not use a base 10 number of months.
Redefining the definition of a second sounds very problematic.
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