Which came first, the am/pm time or the 24 hour clock? It seems the 24 hour clock makes more sense and would be much easier.
Does anyone know a little history on the topic?
2007-08-21 12:02:53 · 4 answers · asked by littlblueyes 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
Wikipedia has a good piece, and the neat part is about why 24 hours and why 60 minutes and seconds. And you thought base 10 was hard, try base 60.
2007-08-21 12:14:28 · answer #1 · answered by Will B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PM is Post Meridian and AM is Ante Meridian. Meridian is the rotation of earth in a complete circle at any given point. So, you do the math :)
I just remembered that from years ago when I was learning English.
2007-08-21 19:26:58 · answer #2 · answered by Chino 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just another blip in the brain here, but it seems to me that in reading about the Book(s) of Hours written in Latin and illustrated by monks, I also got the word that these books gave rise to the practice of calling some hours "after matins (or morning prayers)" and "pre-matins," (before morning prayers.)
This may have lead to the practice of calling hours a.m. and p.m... but I can't find a reference yet.
There is a short passage in my source about the Book of Hours, and a link that will show you one:
http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/rh/
Good luck! A star for your question!
2007-08-21 19:42:32 · answer #3 · answered by LK 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When time zones were issued.
2007-08-21 19:10:01 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Fancy Pants 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋