# What did the original use of the phrase "seven seconds" refer to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684 "2019-10-12T16:48:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/1 "2019-10-12T16:48:32Z")
I’m sking this here and not in Café Society because I’m not referring to the Netflix series–although the popularity of that show has made it impossible to search the net for any other meaning. I think the first time I heard the term was 1994, on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s track “7 Seconds.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/x-K_6awb3Zg/maxresdefault.jpg "Ryuichi Sakamoto - 7 seconds") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-K_6awb3Zg) It cropped up a few more times for me–enough to convince me it wasn’t random but referred to something specific. At one time I had a vague inkling that it had something to do with the atomic bomb, or bomb testing, but I have no remaining memory of what that link was. Does anyone have a clue as to why this measurement of time seems to resonate more than (randomness)×(confirmation bias) would seem to account for? (Wikipedia only lists secondary cultural references and makes no mention of any original reference point.) Sent from my LG-M150 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/2 "2019-10-12T17:11:36Z")
Here’s [Wikipedia’s disambiguation page for “7 Seconds”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Seconds) (which the OP has probably already seen) and excerpts from each article that discuss the reason for the name, where available: • 7 Seconds (band), a punk rock band from Reno, Nevada formed in 1980: > [@](#): > > “…I was ordering The Dils single “198 Seconds of The Dils” from Bomp and I wrote it on a desk and the ink it said 97 Seconds; and then we saw this movie _Day of the Jackals_ or something and all through it there were references to 7 Seconds, and the Dils were like our idols… So we were looking for a name and we were looking at this racing book and it said 7 seconds and we said, ‘fuck it, must be an omen,’ so we picked it. It’s a short, intense name.” • “7 Seconds” (song), a 1994 song by Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry > [@](#): > > The title and refrain of the song refers to the first moments of a child’s life; as Cherry put it, “not knowing about the problems and violence in our world”. • _7 Seconds_ (film), a 2005 film > [@](#): > > The title refers to the timers at the beginning of the film, which are set at 00:07 (7 seconds). • _Seven Seconds_ (TV series), an Netflix crime drama • “Seven Seconds”, an episode of Criminal Minds Other: • Seven Second Summits, the second-highest mountains of each of the seven continents • 7 Seconds of Love, a ska band So no unifying reason yet… ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/3 "2019-10-12T17:40:38Z")
> [@](#): > > and then we saw this movie _Day of the Jackals_ or something and all through it there were references to 7 Seconds Looking at the [movie script for _Day of the Jackal_](https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=day-of-the-jackal-the), there is only one mention of “seven seconds”. A Youtube video shows that this is said at the start of the movie as part of a voiceover describing a fictionalized version of a [real-life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Bastien-Thiry#Assassination_attempt) assassination attempt on Charles de Gaulle: > [@](#): > > “The time elapsed from the first to the last shot was seven seconds. In all, more than 140 shots were fired. Several bullets pierced the president’s car. One came within an inch of his head. But, as if by a miracle, neither he nor anyone else was hurt.” ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/4 "2019-10-12T19:47:23Z")
In one of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies he’s diffusing a bomb. The counter is ticking down and he succeeds when it reaches 007. Appropriate, no? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/5 "2019-10-12T20:04:29Z")
Maybe seven seconds is how long it took to fire the whole nine yards of a machine gun ammunition belt. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/6 "2019-10-12T21:17:24Z")
My only point of reference for “7 seconds” is the [7 second broadcast delay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_delay). ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/7 "2019-10-12T22:40:24Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Maybe seven seconds is how long it took to fire the whole nine yards of a machine gun ammunition belt. 😉 Assuming negligible air resistance, it’s also the time it would take to fall 240 m, which is almost exactly the height of the Woolworth building. I’m not claiming this is more than a coincidence. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/8 "2019-10-15T18:09:53Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > In one of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies he’s diffusing a bomb… Was that some kind of _Harry Potter/007_ crossover? ---
**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 15, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/9 "2019-10-15T18:56:50Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > My only point of reference for “7 seconds” is the [7 second broadcast delay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_delay). Also referenced in the _The Nightfly_ by Donald Fagen. _I’m Lester the Nightfly Hello, Baton Rouge Won’t you turn your radio down? Respect the seven-second delay we use_ ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/10 "2019-10-15T20:32:09Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > • “7 Seconds” (song), a 1994 song by Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry This is it for me. It’s [catchy as hell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k) and now I feel old realising it’s 25 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/11 "2019-10-15T20:44:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Harry Potter/007_ crossover? …I’d watch that. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/12 "2019-10-16T02:47:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Was that some kind of _Harry Potter/007_ crossover? I’ve never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie. Does 007 have a significance in the stories? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/13 "2019-10-16T04:41:04Z")
Hand grenades? Pull the pin, count to five, throw, explosion on impact. . . sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/14 "2019-10-16T04:46:13Z")
Nope: > [@](#): > > [FM 3-23.30 Chptr 3 Employment of Hand Grenades](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-23-30/ch3.htm) > . . . > b. Aboveground detonation is especially critical when engaging bunker-type emplacements. To achieve aboveground detonation or near-impact detonation, remove the grenade’s safety pin, release the safety lever, count ONE THOUSAND ONE, ONE THOUSAND TWO, and throw the grenade. This is called cooking-off. \*\*Cooking-off expends a sufficient period (about 2 seconds) of the grenade’s 4- to 5-second delay. \*\*This causes the grenade to detonate above ground or shortly after impact with the target. Do not cook-off fragmentation or white phosphorous hand grenades when in training. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/15 "2019-10-16T04:48:49Z")
Time we have to make a first impression: [https://www.shannonpolly.com/first-impressions-the-7-eleven-rule/](https://www.shannonpolly.com/first-impressions-the-7-eleven-rule/) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/16 "2019-10-16T14:29:50Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I’m sking this here and not in Café Society because I’m not referring to the Netflix series–although the popularity of that show has made it impossible to search the net for any other meaning. Yeah, this is swamping google searches. My hazy memory, which I haven’t been able to confirm, is that _Seven seconds to Midnight_ represents the timing of an event if the whole (evolutionary?) history of the earth is presented as a twenty-four hour clock. And no, I’m not referring to the Doomsday Clock. At least, not knowingly. j ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/17 "2019-10-16T14:54:29Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > I’ve never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie. Does 007 have a significance in the stories? > **['Diffuse' vs. 'Defuse'](https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/diffuse-vs-defuse)** > > Let us defuse the usage bomb that is 'diffuse/defuse' confusion ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/18 "2019-10-16T15:09:43Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > In one of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies he’s diffusing a bomb. The counter is ticking down and he succeeds when it reaches 007. Appropriate, no? 1. The film is _Goldfinger_. 2. He fails! An American saves the day and just switches it off. Sadly, the hero is only known as “the atomic specialist”. (3. The clock on the bomb is highly variable. Jumps ahead quickly then runs at a snail’s pace. And apparently “3 more ticks” is 7 seconds to Bond. Ah, missed script changes.) Other than this film, I have no recollection of 7 seconds being of significance in general. The aforementioned _Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists_’ [Doomsday Clock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock) has never been lower than 2 minutes (which is also its current setting). ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-original-use-of-the-phrase-seven-seconds-refer-to/841684/19 "2019-10-16T15:39:46Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > [Diffuse vs. Defuse: What's the Difference | Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/diffuse-vs-defuse) You learn something new every day. Thanks!