Symoblically speaking… why did we decide on 3 o clock to mean the universal sign for Clock ? Wouldnt 2 or 4 o clock be just as good ?
Who is this “we” you’re taling about? Generally the clock pictures I see (which are usually ads) have the hands set to 10 and 2.
– “3 AM,” Matchbox 20
My WAG is that right angles are pleasing to the eye. That, plus the info from my previous link.
I second that. I believe I read in an old Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader that the 10 and 2 looks like a smile, subliminally making you feel good about what you’re observing.
I think the OP is talking about some kind of symbol (like the international symbols for left luggage and toilet genders etc), although I can’t find a good example of any such symbol; a google search on international clock symbol returns nothing interesting and searching for clock icon returns a bunch of clock symbols, all showing different times (a few of them do show 3 O’clock).
Assuming that there is some kind of standard or convention (which is not yet established here), I suppose the best answer is ‘and why not?’ - a symbol depicting a clock can only portray it telling one particular time - whatever time was chosen, the OP would probably be asking ‘why this one in particular?’.
Has no one thought of the underground Christian movements??? Isn’t 3 oclock the time that Christ died on the cross? Or maybe its 3 AM, the witching hour. It could be the work of Satanist cults who believe that 3 AM is the witching hour. Either way, its probably one of those two conspiracies
I think the actual reason is that the name/logo of the clock manufacturer is often located under the 12 so the hands at 10 and 2 act as a frame for the name.
According to the gospels, it was the ninth hour, which corresponds to any time between 2 and 3 PM.