# 24/7 everywhere? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249 "2013-10-03T03:24:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dax-ion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dax-ion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dax-ion)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/1 "2013-10-03T03:24:36Z")
Are there any places/countries today that do not use the twenty-four hour day or seven day week for official business? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/2 "2013-10-03T05:01:09Z")
> [@Dax-ion](#): > > Are there any places/countries today that do not use the twenty-four hour day or seven day week for official business? No one significant shows up. The wikipedia list starts here \>\>\> > **[Week](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Week#Three-day)** > > A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are often mapped against yearly calendars. There are just over 52 weeks in a year. > Ancient cultures had different "week" lengths, including ten in Egypt and an eight-day week for Etruscans. The Etruscan week was adopted by the ancient Romans, but they later mov... For example , the African Igbo culture “In their indigenous calendar, a week had four days, a month consisted of seven weeks and 13 months made a year. In the last month, an extra day was added.[45][46] This calendar is still used in indigenous Igbo villages and towns to determine market days.”. But holding markets according to a 4 day week is hardly a systematic official rejection of 7 day calander ! Its the same everywhere, you can go and find a South American tribe who doesn’t even know that there is a 7 day week, but is it “official” ? ---
**Author:** ![Dax-ion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dax-ion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dax-ion)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/3 "2013-10-03T06:09:30Z")
Thanks. I know there are solar calenders and lunar calenders but I was wondering if there was some non-Judea-christian/Islamic country somewhere where they rejected the seven day week on principal. I think the French Revolution tried to institute decimal time and calenders in “Year Zero”. I think it was as a rejection of the Catholic Church so I was wondering if there were any present day hold outs maybe in Asia or Polynesia or somewhere that just were not gonna accept the Christian or Muslim calender. What do they use in places like China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam? Their own solar calenders right? And in the Middle East it is lunar calenders? But everyone uses 24/7/350something? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/4 "2013-10-03T13:07:21Z")
> [@Dax-ion](#): > > And in the Middle East it is lunar calenders? But everyone uses 24/7/350something? Maybe I am misundestanding the question mark here but Islamic countries do observe a lunar calendar for religious purposes. The Islamic lunar calendar gives a year that is about 355 days so the lunar months rotate about 10 years earlier every year. For example, Ramadan, the month of fasting, can occur anywhere during the solar year. It’s kind of tough to forgo all food and water during daylight hours in the Middle East in July when it hits 115F/46C in the shade. They conform to the Western calendar for government and business purposes. I think they would have a seven-day week anyway. The only one I have personal experience with is Egypt. They have the same seven-day week although Friday and Saturday are their weekend days off, with Friday being the day of worship for Muslims. I am not sure what the Copts (Egyptian Christian sect) practice. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/5 "2013-10-03T17:49:54Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > … > They conform to the Western calendar for government and business purposes. I think they would have a seven-day week anyway. The only one I have personal experience with is Egypt. They have the same seven-day week although Friday and Saturday are their weekend days off, with Friday being the day of worship for Muslims. I am not sure what the Copts (Egyptian Christian sect) practice. Muslims inherited the seven day week from the Christians and Jews. The Coptic people worship on Sunday, as do all Oriental Orthodox Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/6 "2013-10-03T19:46:19Z")
[Liverpool.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs5qsk0pc6Y) ---
**Author:** ![Dax-ion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dax-ion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dax-ion)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/7 "2013-10-03T20:29:38Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > [Liverpool.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs5qsk0pc6Y) Zing! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-7-everywhere/670249/8 "2013-10-03T20:49:59Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > They conform to the Western calendar for government and business purposes. I think they would have a seven-day week anyway. The only one I have personal experience with is Egypt. They have the same seven-day week although Friday and Saturday are their weekend days off, with Friday being the day of worship for Muslims. I am not sure what the Copts (Egyptian Christian sect) practice. I was amused to find that the Dubai location of TGI Fridays is called TGI Thursdays.