#84 Keeping Time

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This episode is part of the TechTalkForFamilies Podcast Scavenger Hunt. Check out the details at:

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In primitive cultures, nobody had clocks. They didn’t have any use for clocks. One guy would ask, ‘What time is it?’ and everyone else would hit him with sticks for asking such a stupid question. Then the monks decided they needed to pray every few hours. Somebody had to figure out the meaning of ‘hour’ and how many ‘hours’ made a ‘few.’ So they invented clocks.

Early clocks were just candles with different-colored stripes. One stripe equaled one hour. If you bought your candles from a candle-maker with a wide brush, an hour might last several ‘days.’? (‘Days’? had been discovered much earlier by cavemen who used them to separate one night from the next.)

Thinner brushes meant skinnier stripes which, in turn, meant shorter hours which meant less time to nap between prayers. Skinny brushes werenât especially popular.

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NOTES:

• If you’re interested in a somewhat more accurate history of timekeeping, check the Wikipedia article at:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timekeeping
• The names of the prayers in this episode develoved into pseudo Latin. You can read about pseudo Latin at:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipsum
• If the jokes about pyramid building made you yearn for the days the Pharaohs, you might enjoy Joan Collins’ Cult Classic film Land of the Pharaohs
• Finally, if you want a shot at the TechTalkForFamilies fabulous prize package, check out the details at:
  http://www.techtalkforfamilies.com/contest.

Tags: humor essay | humor column | time | clocks | scavenger hunt | comedy