# How did people sync to the correct time in decades past? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016 "2011-09-29T15:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/81 "2023-02-28T05:47:46Z")
Back in the 60s (and earier), we would hear a couple of factory whistles sounding daily at 8, noon, and 4. If we were out of range with no watch, major downtown buildings had public clocks. In our regular street grid, if the sun was out, you coukd roughly estiate the time by the sun’s position or thst of building’s shadows - in comparison to what you were used to at home. Some places have a “noon gun” which can be heard over a large area. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/82 "2023-02-28T22:38:01Z")
Back a decade or more ago, there was a change in the date of when DST started, and I checked my phone to see that it hadn’t changed, so I reset the time myself… only to see it reset itself back a couple of seconds later. Apparently nobody had bothered to update the changeover date in the clocks that ran the cell network. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/83 "2023-03-02T02:48:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If you wanted to catch a train you’d have to plan to be at the station ahead of time and prepared to wait for delays. There’s a joke in this somewhere about Mussolini, I’m sure. Yes, moderately accurate timepieces just taught people to allow a little slack - if they wanted to catch the noon train, be there by 11:55AM, or better yet, 11:50, depending on how well you trust your watch or the clock in the hotel. I suppose the broadcast networks started to see the value of exact on-time broadcast starts, same as other networks. If you started later than other networks, people were less likely to tune in for the tail end of your show, or if starting earlier, not want to tune in and have missed the first few minutes. If the goal was to entice users to change channel, nothing else works as well. (And I do believe they used the same strategy to synchronize commercial breaks.) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/84 "2023-03-02T17:04:47Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I can’t find the cite for this, but apparently in some major cities in the 1800s, a few people managed to make a living by setting a pocket watch to the main city clock, then wandering round selling the correct time to businesses. > **[Podcast Episode 108: The Greenwich Time Lady - Futility Closet](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2016/06/06/podcast-episode-108-greenwich-time-lady/)** > > As recently as 1939, a London woman made her living by setting her watch precisely at the Greenwich observatory and “carrying the time” to her customers in the city. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we’ll meet Ruth Belville,... ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/85 "2023-03-02T18:20:19Z")
Thanks- that definitely wasn’t the cite I was looking for, as my post pre-dated it by 5 years, but I’m glad to see I didn’t make it up! ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/86 "2023-03-03T14:13:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > the BBC World Service, which provides a time signal regularly. And CHU Canada as well. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/87 "2023-03-03T14:17:33Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I suppose the broadcast networks started to see the value of exact on-time broadcast starts, same as other networks. I’ve noticed that some network TV programming runs late during prime time. They might be as much as 2 minutes behind. Not allowing for sports or other programming running late though. We have TV through Dish, so I wonder if it’s their issue? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/88 "2023-03-03T15:44:16Z")
Well, “decades past” is rather nebulous. How many decades? It wasn’t until 1884 at a conference in Greenwich that we have had a global standard for time much less the exact time. It was, however, the first real effort to sync the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/89 "2023-03-03T19:54:25Z")
Nitpick: The conference was in Washington, but it settled on the Greenwich meridian as the global standard. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/90 "2023-03-03T21:14:57Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I’ve noticed that some network TV programming runs late during prime time. They might be as much as 2 minutes behind. When I was working on a product related to TV scheduling, I was told that this is a deliberate strategy by the network to get the viewer “stuck” on their network. The idea is that if a viewer watches to the end of a show, then switches to another channel and sees that they’ve already missed several minutes of that show, they’ll likely switch back to the original network. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/91 "2023-03-03T22:00:02Z")
Another famous one is Edinburgh castle in Scotland, where a cannon is fired every day at 1pm. There is a story that they chose 1 pm rather than noon because the notoriously frugal Scots were too cheap to fire twelve cannon shots that would indicate 12 pm, but it’s a myth. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/92 "2023-03-03T22:06:36Z")
Could be the case, but with DVRs it’s not really an issue, just an annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/93 "2023-03-03T22:37:27Z")
It was actually a DVR I was working on, and it was a hassle. If the user has scheduled two shows to record, one that airs from 9:01 to 10:01, and another that airs from 10:00 to 11:00, what do you do? Clip the end from one, clip the beginning from the other, or just fail to record one of them? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/94 "2023-03-04T05:21:39Z")
My Dish DVR records 4 prime time channels at once as well as 5 additional channels. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/95 "2023-03-04T06:28:55Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > It was actually a DVR I was working on, and it was a hassle. If the user has scheduled two shows to record, one that airs from 9:01 to 10:01, and another that airs from 10:00 to 11:00, what do you do? Clip the end from one, clip the beginning from the other, or just fail to record one of them? Was that really an issue? At far as I remember, the DVRs I’ve had have always been able to record several programs at once. (Before that, growing up we had two VCRs set up that could record two different channels while we could watch a third!) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/96 "2023-03-04T06:32:57Z")
Yeah, this was like 20 years ago (ReplayTV). The hardware at that time had just one tuner, so could record only one show at a time. The disk was also small (4 GB in the first model) and slow, so there were lots of limitations imposed by the hardware. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/97 "2023-03-04T06:58:00Z")
The BBC was broadcasting time signals [from the 1920s](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Time_Signal). The UK’s speaking clock service came in the 1930s: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UL0DrC0jFoc/hqdefault.jpg "Speaking Clock - 1935 | The Archivist Presents | #134") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0DrC0jFoc) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/98 "2023-03-07T16:47:57Z")
Even with multiple tuners it can be an issue - I used to run into this when I wanted to record two shows that ran until a minute past the hour (ended at 10:01) and one that started on the hour (10:00) ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/99 "2023-03-07T19:46:28Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > the BBC World Service, which provides a time signal regularly. > > And CHU Canada as well. Replying to a post 11 years later notwithstanding, WWV and CHU are dedicated time signal stations - all they do is broadcast a time signal. The BBC World Service, on the other hand, broadcasts a series of six beeps every hour on the hour; up through 1990, they came from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Speaking of the UK, there are two other longstanding time-setting methods that I think are still in use; a ball at the top of the Royal Observatory is lowered at 1 PM every day, and a cannon atop Edinburgh Castle fires at 1 PM pretty much every day except Sundays. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/100 "2023-03-07T21:17:07Z")
When I was a kid (77-80ish) there was always a TV channel that had the time and weather. Basic cable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016.md?page=6)