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Why does the USA not use the 24 hour clock?
- Thread starter Happybunny
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Our oven (in Canada) is in F.... so, when it gets nippy outside at -3C we'll cook a roast at 350F. ... makes perfectly good sense. Most ovens are off by a few degrees so your 177C is may actually be closer to the right temperature than the F you think you dialed in.
You mean like the CFL (Canadian Football League)? Our fields are 100 metres long - though we mark them in yards of course.... so the centre line is the 55 yard-line (i.e. the 50metre line).
Best damn football there is, eh?
Update:
Regarding the 24 hour clock.... it's easier to figure out durations with a 24 hour clock. If I started a project at 9am, and worked until 5pm on it to figure out the duration I would need to subtract 9 from 12 to get 3, then count the hours from 12 'til 5 to get 5 - and then add them up. With the 24 hour clock it would be as simple as subtracting 9 from 17 = 8. So 9 'til 5 is not so hard, but now quickly figure out how long a project took when it goes from 7:20 to 3:15?
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Here is some food for thought. Almost all analog watches made and sold in the world use a 12 hour system so people have to convert between them to read those clocks and watches.
Digital yes it is easy but analog it requires thought.
Digital yes it is easy but analog it requires thought.
I've thought about this before, I don't know why we use the 12 hour clock scheme... I'd love to be able to give exact times. No morning/night AM/PM junk.
Reminds me about the first Nintendo DS. It didn't use the 12 hour clock scheme. Maybe the new DSs are the same - idk (I doubt it though. Nintendo probably changed it)
Reminds me about the first Nintendo DS. It didn't use the 12 hour clock scheme. Maybe the new DSs are the same - idk (I doubt it though. Nintendo probably changed it)
Ane every place I have ever worked at uses the 24 hr clock on paperwork and on the computer.
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Don't be pedantic
As for me, 12 hrs is perfectly fine. As is deg F and mph. That is how I am wired. With that said, I am in science and like the metric system better in that regard but for my day to day living, no way.
I mean I know what 50F feels like and what 40mph is right away. I would have to think a little to get an idea of what 20C is or 10m/s and when I do, I equate it to what they would be in imperial in my mind. Same with time
How cool is this, for our friends that use 24-hour time signatures?
Yeah I know there are some 24 hour anolog watches but there is a reason I used ALMOST
They can use them but I personally do not think I would want one.
Yeah, what's up with that stone measurement for weight? It confuses me when I see an article from a UK news site mentioning something weighing, say, 14st. Then again, I keep seeing that on the Daily Fail, so it doesn't surprise me.
Just a two digit year? They'll be sorry come Y3.1K
No, they'll be sorry in 2038.
A stone is 14 pounds, so the 14 stone something you may read about weighs a grand total of 196 pounds.Yeah, what's up with that stone measurement for weight? It confuses me when I see an article from a UK news site mentioning something weighing, say, 14st. Then again, I keep seeing that on the Daily Fail, so it doesn't surprise me.
Being American, I obviously use imperial, but understand that Metric is far more useful. I use both as needed.
For instance, I always use 12-hour time in general conversation. But if I'm naming a file with a timestamp, I use yymmdd and a 24-hour notation.
For temperature, I understand the whole 0-100 for freezing/boiling water thing, but I will fight to the death to use Fahrenheit for weather temperature. To me, 0˚ is really cold, and 100˚ is really hot. It just doesn't sound hot to say "It's 35 degrees out!". And Celsius goes negative before I consider it bitter cold.
Switching would be a monumental feat at this point. Something as simple as the standard 4'x8' sheet of plywood would now be 1219.2mm x 2438.4mm, which would just get really annoying. A lot of automated machinery would have to be changed out if we were to change to even metric units, at great cost. I don't see it happening any time soon.
For instance, I always use 12-hour time in general conversation. But if I'm naming a file with a timestamp, I use yymmdd and a 24-hour notation.
For temperature, I understand the whole 0-100 for freezing/boiling water thing, but I will fight to the death to use Fahrenheit for weather temperature. To me, 0˚ is really cold, and 100˚ is really hot. It just doesn't sound hot to say "It's 35 degrees out!". And Celsius goes negative before I consider it bitter cold.
Switching would be a monumental feat at this point. Something as simple as the standard 4'x8' sheet of plywood would now be 1219.2mm x 2438.4mm, which would just get really annoying. A lot of automated machinery would have to be changed out if we were to change to even metric units, at great cost. I don't see it happening any time soon.
Psst... your neighbo(u)rs to the north made the switch years ago and it wasn't all that bad. A sheet of plywood is still 4' X 8' and a 2 X 4 is still called a 2 X 4. You don't have to change everything. Of course it was easier for us since the temperature is always negative up here, regardless of unit of measurement.
BTW, you use the US customary system, not the (British) imperial system.
Uh huh.
I don't want to hear any Brits making fun of Americans for using weird units of measure.
The problem lies in the American love-affair with this style clock
But kids these days don't even know how to read one!
View attachment 321440
The problem lies in the American love-affair with this style clock
But kids these days don't even know how to read one!
It is truly sad how few people can read analog clocks and watches these days. They look a lot more professional to wear an analog watch than a digital watch.
I agree with you there, analog watches are much more classy. Digital watches all look and feel like toys to me.
I've used a 24 hour clock on my laptop ever since I spent 5 months abroad. I just prefer it for my personal use.
I do prefer the metric system in theory, but it would be such a hassle to carry it over in practice I'm not sure it's worth it.
I do prefer the metric system in theory, but it would be such a hassle to carry it over in practice I'm not sure it's worth it.
View attachment 321440
The problem lies in the American love-affair with this style clock
But kids these days don't even know how to read one!
um it's clearly 10:25 sheesh
It's for the same reasons as why they use yards instead of meters, gallons instead of liters, pounds instead of kilogram, miles instead of km, and put the month before the day in the date format. They want to be different.
Oh, btw, I have never used a digital wristwatch, but I certainly use 24-hour time format anyway.
Oh, btw, I have never used a digital wristwatch, but I certainly use 24-hour time format anyway.
Ah, in the UK it's not about being different, our politicians are too scared. It would be the bravest of politicians who announced we were going completely metric for everything. Telling a nation of borderline alcoholics that they were being switched to half litres (with the resulting loss of beer) would probably result in rioting across the land. (As we all know the dastardly breweries would charge the same for the half litre as a pint.)
Probably best to continue with being 'officially' metric but not actually doing it very well.
Probably best to continue with being 'officially' metric but not actually doing it very well.
For time, I set my computer's time, and my digital watch, to 24-hour time. However, when I speak, I use AM and PM because I have this impression that 24-hour time, when spoken, is only for the army.
For dates, I normally use dd/mm/yyyy if I type a document for myself, or yyyy-mm-dd if I'm naming an MS Word/Excel file at work, or photos I've taken.
For dates, I normally use dd/mm/yyyy if I type a document for myself, or yyyy-mm-dd if I'm naming an MS Word/Excel file at work, or photos I've taken.
Actually, most digital watches, most computing devices that display time, all iPods that display time, and most appliances that display time digitally that are sold in the USA can be switched to 24-hour time.
In fact, my digital watch, my three iPods, my iPad and all the clock appliances in my house display 24-hour time. It's only the HD set top box from the cable TV company in the kitchen and my TiVo HD XL box that are still on 12-hour AM/PM time.
In fact, my digital watch, my three iPods, my iPad and all the clock appliances in my house display 24-hour time. It's only the HD set top box from the cable TV company in the kitchen and my TiVo HD XL box that are still on 12-hour AM/PM time.