2006-11-06 11:29:48 · 4 answers · asked by andrewbiz 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
You can blame the ancient Babylonians who had a base-60 (sexagesimal) system for counting.
They liked 60 because it is the smallest number that is evenly divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6... and it can also be divided by ten, fifteen, twenty, and thirty.
1/2 hr = 30 minutes
1/3 hour = 20 minutes
1/4 hour = 15 minutes
1/5 hour = 12 minutes
1/6 hour = 10 minutes
In addition to using base sixty, the Babylonians also made use of six and ten as sub-bases.
To this day, we bear the legacies of almost every number system our ancestors experimented with. From the duo-decimal systems we have twenty-four hours in a day, twelve inches in a foot, and special words such as dozen (meaning 12) and gross (meaning 12 x 12 = 144).
From the Babylonians’ sexagesimal system we have sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, and 360 degrees in a circle, where 360 degrees is derived from the product of the Babylonian's main base (sixty) and their sub-base (six); that is, 60 x 6 = 360.
The French at one time tried to mandate a base-10 time system, (10 hours in a day, 100 minutes per hour), but it never caught on. So like much of the weirdness of our 3 ft / yd, 1760 yd. / mile, 8 oz / cup, etc. we have to live with numbers that aren't all based on 10. I wish it were so, but it isn't.
2006-11-06 11:34:00 · answer #1 · answered by Puzzling 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i think of you have a issue along with your colon...it somewhat is beneficial to get that regarded at.... once you spot time represented on your microwave, think of of the colon through fact the observe "and". So in case you spot a million:20, examine it as a million minute AND 20 seconds. So one minute and 20 seconds is represented as "a million:20" on your microwave. a million:20 in seconds = 80 seconds. The "a million" = 60 seconds AND the 20 = 20 seconds. upload that collectively and you get 80 seconds. 2:00 = 2 minutes and 0 seconds. If each and each minute = 60 seconds, then 2 minutes =one hundred twenty seconds, no longer 80 seconds. Now i will blow your techniques... the present time is 21:40 5:fifty six GMT -5
2016-12-10 03:52:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because we based our time on an ancient civilization that divided every thing into 6.
2006-11-06 11:36:39 · answer #3 · answered by Earl Lu 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all started with the Babylonians who liked to measure things with amounts of sixty.
2006-11-06 11:32:59 · answer #4 · answered by angelinvestor 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋