# How did people sync to the correct time in decades past?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016>\
**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:** 1\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/101 "2023-03-12T12:41:48Z")

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> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> We still have ours (Cape Town) - and a noon gun.

Santiago (Chile) as well - I hate it with a passion …

Believe me you nearly $hit a brick when a (aprox. 4") cannon fires at you from 50m distance in - what is today - a very confined space. Especially if you aren’t mentally prepared for that and it catches you off-guard.

That bloody thing is so lould, they stopped using it after the big feb 27th 2010 earthquake as they feared the sonic boom might have “shaky” buildings collapse - but now its back, probably for tourist’s reasons…

here a touristy video … fast-forward to 2:40

> **[Conociendo los cerros Santa Lucía y San Cristobal - 3, 2, 1 Grabando en...](https://web.facebook.com/cntvinfantil/videos/conociendo-los-cerros-santa-luc%C3%ADa-y-san-cristobal-3-2-1-grabando-en-santiago/1715194748557766/?_rdc=1&_rdr)**
>
> Alexia y Francisco presenciaron en primera fila el cañonazo de las 12 en el Cerro Santa Lucía 💣 Además, conocieron a dos amig@s que practican...

> [@md2000](#):
>
> Plus, if anyone remembers cheap watches from 40 plus years ago…A watch that could keep time within seconds a day without a lot of fiddling and adjustment was either Rolex-expensive or a pipe dream. You reset your watch every day or two to the official time,

still true today for mechanical wristwatches. If the watches are “Chonometer certified” (few are, as this is a costly process - as you need to have higher quality components and a stringent (pre-) evaluation process in different positions (dial up/down, crown up/down,…)), they are guaranteed to run between (-4 / +6 seconds) precise per day “at the day of the certification” - which might be weeks/months/years before they are sold.

today, my goto source is: www.time.is … big, senior-citizen approved time, also a few other citie’s time and checks how much your computer’s internal watch is off.

> [@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.

quite possible the inventors of “SaaS” (software-as-a-service), one could argue (you’d pay them 1x month and the person would agree to come to your business for the whole month

And now I realize, this thread is not minutes/hours or days old, but a decade!!! … tempos fugit _facepalm_

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