# keeping time **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200 "2001-08-26T18:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![soularrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@soularrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soularrow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/1 "2001-08-26T18:00:16Z")
does anyone know why there are 24 hours in a day? the 365 days to a year is pretty straight forward, and I’m sure the 7 day week is biblical in origin. So what’s up with 24? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/2 "2001-08-26T18:08:40Z")
I believe that the 24 hour day is of Roman origin. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/3 "2001-08-26T18:23:33Z")
In Thailand, the day is divided up into six hour quadrants, also yielding a 24 hour day. They would use from one to six strikes of different things (drum, gong, I forget the other two) to indicate the hours plus the part of the day. This can still cause some confusion between Thais and westerners, as 7 am is considered 1 in the morning. I once was invited to meet some people for dinner at 2 o’clock. This was over the telephone and I considered it an insane request, so I told them I would think about it. At 8:30 pm I got a call inquiring whether I was going to come or not. Oh, that 2 o’clock. Anyway, I doubt that this comes from the Romans, but I’m not sure where it would come from, maybe ancient Eastern astonomers. ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/4 "2001-08-26T19:35:04Z")
It started with the Babylonions, not the Romans. The Babylonions did not think of a day in the sense that you are using the term. They had a day and a night. And they allocated 12 hours to each. They also divided the sky into 12 signs of the zodiac. So you really want to know why they liked the number 12. The answer is that they like 12 for the same we like 10…they count with their fingers. Hold your hand up and look at your fingers. Each finger has three segments. You have four fingers for a total of 12 segments. This is how the Babylonions counted. The thumb was used simply to point at the finger segments as they counted. I can’t exactly give a cite for all of this, but [Why are there 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day?](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar98/890662272.Sh.r.html) supports the thought that the Babylonions originated it and that they liked 12. And [Why There Are 24 Hours in a Day](http://www.andrewtobias.com/newcolumns/010226.html) relates the finger-counting story well enough to show that I didn’t just dream it up. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/5 "2001-08-27T04:07:53Z")
Them damn Babylonians, what will they think of next? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/6 "2001-08-27T11:21:47Z")
I thought it was because there are 360 degrees in a circle (because there are approximately 360 days in a year, or so they estimated) and 360 is easily divided up into many increments, i.e: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 40, 45, 60, 72, 90, 120, 240, 360 So it was logical to use some handy divisions like these to divide a ‘circular’ day up. And they decided 24 hours, of 60 minutes of 60 seconds. Also 12 months x 30 days almost coincided with the phases of the moon. I would imagine the 7 days of the week is purely Biblical, though. But I’m just mostly guessing here, really. And I haven’t read the above links yet. ---
**Author:** ![Sysop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Sysop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sysop)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/7 "2001-09-04T00:49:48Z")
Am I just misunderstanding the question? I thought there were 24 hours in a “day” because it takes approximately 24 hours for the Earth to ROTATE on its axis once. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/8 "2001-09-04T00:52:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sysop \* > \*\*Am I just misunderstanding the question? I thought there were 24 hours in a “day” because it takes approximately 24 hours for the Earth to ROTATE on its axis once. \*\* Why divide it up into 24 units? Why not 10, or 12? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-time/78200/9 "2001-09-04T00:53:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sysop \* > \*\*Am I just misunderstanding the question? I thought there were 24 hours in a “day” because it takes approximately 24 hours for the Earth to ROTATE on its axis once. \*\* I got that the OP was referring to the division of time within a “day”. The amount of time it takes for the earth to rotate is standard, but why was it divided into 24 parts. I don’t know an answer though.