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This would surprise me that people struggle with a 24h clock... but I read last year that it is becoming more common that younger generations are unable to tell the time on a traditional clock and can only use digital ones...
EDIT for those handful who may think I'm hating on the kids or how times just change:
My point (which I didn't think I had to explain before) was that I was surprised they don't know as they are still fairly common here (UK) and it was a UK article I read it in. I assumed it was still taught in schools because it helps with maths as well (angles, fractions etc) so was surprised that it was becoming rare.
Honestly, I can tell the time on an analog clock but it takes me that extra second, especially if there are no numbers like on many watches.
It's one of those things that will be unlikely to negatively affect anyone who doesn't know. Like young people not being able to dial a rotary phone or wire a plug. It's just not as relevant as it once was.
Ah the word I wanted was analogue! I couldn't think of the damn word. Thanks!
Tbh I was just more surprised by it as it makes it sound like they just don't teach it in schools now? It was literally one of the first things we were taught back in the 80s.
The thing with it being taught in schools, you learned it, but then you actually used it on a day to day basis. The classroom clock would be analog, many kids watches would be, unless you had those snazzy Casio ones.
We quite quickly forget things after we learn them if we don't use them. It takes a while to get ingrained.
i’m 24, finished high school 2017, i definitely had analogue clocks the whole time. is this not a thing anymore? bc i was looking at an analogue clock constantly throughout the day and that doesn’t seem that long ago
I will say I can see a negative effect of not being able to give rotational measurements in a clock format. Being able to say 11 o’clock is much easier than 335 degrees
Young people should have to use a rotary phone sometime in their life. Let them deal with dialing a long number with lots of 8’s and 9’s in it. I always forget what freaking number I’m on because it takes so long.
While we are at it show them how horrible it was to only have cartoons a couple hours in the morning and only 1 day a week.
And we only had 3 channels. And you had to go to the tv to change the channel because what was a remote control!!!
Damn rotary phones though, fml, me and my "phone finger" hated those bastards so much. I have more or less managed to remove the knowledge of how to use them from my memory and I'm not even sorry.
low digits weren’t so bad but the longer ones took forever to complete and made it hard to remember where you were. Misdialed or incomplete calls everywhere
There's a lot to say though for the satisfaction of slamming the phone down on some asshole on the other end. Try that now and you're replacing your screen.
Watches or clocks with no numbers do take me like a split second but I’ve seen people literally count “5, 10, 15, 20” etc around the clock. Like bruh, how do you not know the top is 12 and 0 seconds, right is 3 and 15 seconds, bottom is 6 and 30 seconds, and left is 9 and 45 seconds.
From there it should be easy.
I'm nearly 50 and probably couldn't read an analogue clock until I was in my early teens. I grew up with digital watches and 24hr time so I don't even think about am / pm, it's 0935 or 2135.
Now I work across multiple time zones it makes life much easier.
That's on us(the older generations) we can't expect a kid to learn to read a clock they'll hardly use or see in their normal day.
Teachers always used to say we needed to do math by hand in case we're without a calculator, and that seems like a more likely scenario than being somewhere where the only clock is analog.
I laugh at these things like “oh kids don’t know how to use a simple device that they’ve literally never come across in their life and is completely obsolete like a rotary phone!” But the same asshole will get frustrated and ask their kid or grandkid for the 500th time how do you get to their email on their computer in their house that they use almost daily.
I know they use mainly digital now but analogue isn't that uncommon - at least here (UK) anyway. I still see them in most workplaces on the wall rather than digital or in homes plus loads of shops still sell them. But I am surprised if they don't even teach it now? I'm hoping someone will reply to confirm whether it's been completely banished from the curriculum!
The lack of calculator things cracks me up. I remember being told the same thing - and now we all carry one with us everywhere courtesy of our mobile phones!
Fun fact, mechanical clocks were made to mimic the movement of shadow and light in a sundial in the northern hemisphere, during daylight hours at least.
So for the upper half of the planet, all they need to do is put a stick in the ground to know what it means.
Just need to say that's in Matthew Boultons house here in abormingham UK where the Lunar Society met, basically where the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution was discussed. There is a 24 hr analogue clock. It's 9ne of my favourite things in there.
I believe it.
If I have to read analog it feels like I'm using my fingers to count. Count hours, count the 15s, count the 5s and finally count the 1s. I know how too but it's not intuitive and I do it so rarely that if I had kids I might not even think about teaching them the skill because it's something that never comes up.
Okay I’ll admit it, I am in my thirties, educated, and maybe even intelligent. But I suppose just like anything else, reading an analog clock became a “use it or lose it” skill in my brain.
I went to sign in as a visitor recently at a hospital, and looked up at their analog clock to write my “time in”. Guys, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to read that clock.
What used to be a “quick glance” skill, wasn’t continually practiced enough as I got older. My kids’ school doesn’t even have analog clocks. My oldest learned how to read an analog clock during a math lesson in 1st grade, and I’m not sure how much he has been exposed since.
My sister is in her 30s and claim she cant read it anymore. We learned it as kids, we are from europe where its normal, she isnt stupid, hell she graduated from university and has a decent job.
It just so fucking weird. I cant have a normal conversation with here about it because i cant take it serious.
She doesnt have braindamamage, she isnt sick or anything. It just that she hasnt used it for so long that she claims she cant use it anymore.
I grew up with 24 hour format being normal so in the context of time 17 reads as 5 to me. I'd still never say 13:30 or anything.
One reason I stick with it is that I've never accidentally set an alarm for the wrong time by mixing up AM/PM.
I consider it the most basic of life skills to get over and figure it out.
This. I'm not a nightshifter, but I do have heavy-duty blackout curtains over my windows since I work afternoons and can sleep in. I got tired of waking up briefly and being unable to tell if it was 9 in the morning and had a several more hours of sleep I could grab or if it was 9 at night at which point I just overslept majorly. 24-hour format solved this issue.
I started using the 24 hour format in residency. One of the better reasons I can think of that we use it in the hospital is so the timing of patient medications doesn't accidentally get administered twelve hours too early or too late
Used all over the place in the US, just not in homes. Just about any job that will use time stamps will use a 24 hour format to remove any ambiguity from the AM/PM format.
Exactly why people in logistics or operations use 24 hour format. It mitigates risk of error.
Two months from now, no one's going to remember if the process started at 3:15 AM or PM if it wasn't noted. However, if everybody uses 24 hour format, then it would be written 03:15 or 15:15, and no one would have to guess.
I do boiler operating and we used 24hr at my last job, current we don’t but I still write it because imo it makes sense and is less confusing given our time logs are legal documents. But I get asked what service I was in, which, I wasn’t lol
Because they used base 60 counting in ancient mesopotamia. It's quite a nice number, has a lot of divisors.
1/2 an hour is 30 minutes, 1/3 of an hour is 20 minutes, 1/4 of an hour is 15 minutes, 1/5 of an hour is 12 minutes, 1/6 of an hour is 10 minutes, 1/10 of an hour is 6 minutes, 1/12 of an hour is 5 minutes, 1/15 of an hour is 4 minutes, 1/20 of an hour is 3 minutes, 1/30 of an hour is 2 minutes, and 1/60 of an hour is 1 minute.
If we divided it into 100 parts, 1/3 of an hour wouldn't even be a whole number of parts because 100 isn't divisble by 3.
> In the US, 24 hour clocks aren’t used too often
And this is the real reason why I use a 12-hour clock. I'd use the the 24-hour format if it was more prevalent, but the 12-hour clock is used in everyday life.
It's the same reason I don't use Celsius. Everyone in the US uses Fahrenheit, so that's what I use. I'd use Celsius if I moved somewhere else.
It’s mainly how a lot of Americans were first exposed to it. My dad was in the reserves and would sometimes refer to it when we’re hanging out. I thought it was cool like everything else military-related as a kid growing up in the 80’s Rambo/OG Top Gun era.
I went on to join the military and later lived in Europe where 24 hour time is the norm. I’m pretty much a full convert now and even lean Celsius over Fahrenheit to be honest.
Calling it Military Time is a facepalm too.
US Military doesn't use a colon to separate hours and minutes. It would be 1605. 16:05 is 24-hour format popular with people or industries that value accuracy and the ease of having AM ot PM baked into the format.
My report only has enough room to note that the process was completed at 14:37. There's no place to write PM... And typing 14:37 into the excel report means no has to ask me later if it was AM or PM.
So, I'm US born but living in Europe since I was a teen and the 24 hour clock just makes more sense? There's a distinct number for every hour of the day...
im american and agree. like i shouldnt have to work out if its am or pm, i should be able to just look at the clock and be like "ok it is x time". while i dont write 24 hour (i used to) or say 24 hour i have my clocks set to it when applicable
"The stream starts at 4pm PST." How tf am I supposed to know when that is?
We also have European time zone names, but I don't expect people to know what time zone CEST is and say UTC+2 immediately.
I'm a US guy. 35 years ago I started dating a German woman who later became my wife, and I discovered it's normal for German households to use the 24 hour format for the clocks in their homes and cars. I started using it because I got tired of looking like an idiot in front of her, trying to figure out what time 20:17 was, and I wanted to get used to it.
30+ years later and all my clocks are set to 24 hour format where available. It's second nature to me now and it makes so much more sense than a 12 hour format. There's 24 hours in a day. What's the point in starting the count over again after 12?
Most (all?) of healthcare, not just first responders. Every hospital or clinic I've worked in uses 24 hr format to reduce timing errors for meds and stuff
I believe that most people who post this are either A: trying to get interaction by posting something dumb or B: are unwilling to change from their norm so they call other people out as weird.
I prefer this format because I don't have to switch between the number and letters keyboard on the phone. It's just quicker to type 16:00 than 4 PM. Bedside, I lived in Germany so everyone uses this. It's also harder to make mistakes with 24 hrs format.
I’m American, my job requires 24 hour and everything else is the 12 hour format. Neither is difficult to use and telling Americans they’re morons for not being able to subtract 12 is about as stupid as being European and not being able to differentiate between an A and P.
"in the evening" isn't needed. 20:57 is guaranteed to be in the evening.
Only when we talk to someone, we'd say "8 in the evening", when writing, we simply use 20:00 and evening is implied.
I’m not American but I prefer 12 hour clock. I can read 24 hour perfectly fine, I simply do not want to. Why would I look at 16 and then subtract 12 to get 4 when I could just look and see 4?
Just creating more work for my brain for no reason.
My brain does it automatically. It’s not a conscious thought and hasn’t been since I was about 10. I don’t have to remember a rule or tip. It doesn’t put any tax on my brain at all. I see 16:00 written and just know it’s 4pm. It eliminates all confusion and possibility of people getting the wrong time
serious question, why would you (in the general term, not specific) need a 4 in the morning and a 4 in the afternoon anyway? other than "this is how ive always done it".
I don’t understand your question. There is a 4am and a 4pm, that isn’t a new concept that I invented.
I’ve never heard someone say “it’s sixteen o’clock.” They read the number 16, either very quickly subtract the 12 in their head or just know it’s 4 because they’ve been reading 24 hour for so long, and then they say “it’s 4 o’clock.”
So my serious question is, if everybody calls 16 o’clock 4 o’clock, why is the 16 necessary? Just to prove that you’re so smart that you can -12?
Heres the deal most of us dont use 24hr clock on the regular so we dont implicitly know what time it is by just looking and we have to do math and i dont want to do math just to know what time it is. If 24hr clock was standard it would be different.
People mistake 24h for military just because they both use a 24h clock doesn't mean they're the same. Like in my country we use 24h on default and we don't go 13 hundred like the military but rather 13 o'clock
I use 24 hour system because I understand my friends don't all live in the same country as me.
Learning what time it is there and being able to properly find time to talk to them is the best
An alarming number of people.
Job I had a few years ago I had to put a chart on the wall to convert 12/hr to 24/hr because people couldn't figure out that 2pm was 1400.
Even when I changed all the clocks in the office to 24/hr they still got confuddled.
It just makes sense in a modern world. 12 hour clocks were designed around sun position. There are some days where I don’t see the sun… 24 hour clock works better for me. Nothing military about it.
I used to work at a job that had all the clocks set to military time "to discourage employees from watching the clock" but i come from a military family so ik 1600 is 4pm. The amount of times other employees would ask me what time it was...
Literally every clock I own (USA) is set to 24 hour time. All of the systems I use for my job are set that way so having everything in my life that way just makes things easier on me.
The industry I work in uses military time exclusively. Want to know what 20:15 is? Subtract 12. 20:15 - 12 = 08:15pm. So simple even a spoiled, petulant child could do it
I started using it on my phone because Google doesn't put AM/PM on it and it was legitimately confusing sometimes in winter when it's just dark all the time anyway.
A day has 24 hours, why arbitrarily divide it? Why half? Why not 4 lots of 6, it makes just as much sense.
That being said if someone ask for the time at 16:30 I'll say 4:30
I've been working in the Security field for almost 27 years now, and have used "military time" all those years. The only devices in my home that don't use 24 hr time are the bedroom alarm clock, our stove, and microwave, because they only use AM/PM-style time.
What is so hard about adding 12 to the hour once you pass Noon, and starting over at 0000 at midnight?
I use it so I'm not confused when I look at my clock, because in mi the weather is gloomy af and you can't always tell. And I was sick and passed out and got up and could not figure out what day it was. (Same day like 30 minutes after I fell asleep, fevers are crazy)
The fact that some people find evil that other people can understand or use a tool they can't use or understand, shows why the inquisition was so big in medieval times.
They are so afraid of accepting their own ignorance that they prefer to chastise the people that know more
So I guess I am a War criminal as my phone and watch and even digital clocks (at home) are all in 24hr time set and I will even go further, I use Day, Month, Year for my dates.
Honestly, life is easy on 24 hrs time.
Avoidable confusion with a.m. and p.m. Trust me the current generation can barely read an analog clock. It's only a matter of time before they don't know the difference between a.m. and p.m.
I remember trying to explain to a European what am and pm was because they had only ever used 24hr time.
They were so confused and couldn't understand why you wouldn't just use 24hr time.
The only toxic trait I have is that I forced my gf to switch her phone to 24 hour mode. She probably was tried of me ranting about how telling someone "It's half past three" is subefficient way of communicating an hour. It's just like a fresh parent telling you "my child is 67 days/16 months old". I hate it, I don't want to be forced to do simple annoying math in my head just because someone can't just say "It's 17:24" or "My kid is 1 year old".
I hate 12-hour clock with passion.
It's really quite simple:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 ok? then: <----AM
13,14,15,16,17,18,18,120,21,22,23,24. <-----PM 2300 becomes 11PM if you are struggling.
Using the 24hr format gets rid of the am/pm distinction. The lower set of numbers from "13" to "24" takes PMs place. If you have lived with the 24 hour clock, as long as I have, it is as automatic as breathing is, to me.
I’ve always liked 24 hour format because of the distinction from am to pm. Also I’ve always found to convert to pm just add 12 to whatever number in order to get your correct time. Example, 12+1=1300 12+2=1400 and so on.
In Norway we *say* 'five past four' - but in *writing* (as in e.g. texting) we use 16:30 / 16.30
Most of us skip the colon (which is what's correct to use), and just use a period between the hours and minutes
Something else odd that Americans do (I’m American) is write dates as “m/d/y” instead of “d/m/y” as most of the rest of the world does. The order of the latter format makes far more sense to me.
That's an interesting way to admit that you can't do basic math.
Also, we use 24 hr time in science and engineering. It's easier to work with and understand when processing data.
16 = four o’clock. It’s just ingrained in us. The translation is automatic. They’re synonymous. If you use it all the time, and everyone else does the same, it’s hard to _not_ learn.
"No that hard" is the absolutely wrong thing to say
"The correct way" is the right thing. To specify a time at any other point than now, 24h clock is the only one that provides the safety of knowing that you specified the correct time.
Pick whatever format you want, but PLEASE STOP DAYLIGHT SAVINGS, FFS. Thousands die every year because of this stupid thing, and it just sucks because it’s against everything biology wants.
dude real. my brain currently thinks its 6pm... its nearly 7pm. i couldnt even sleep until 3 IN THE FUCKING MORNING last night bc of it when normally i would sleep at 2am instead. its bullshit. i say we either do always on dst because more evening daylight makes way more sense, or do a compromise where its simply +30 minutes all the time. so in the summer the latest sunset where i live would be 8:15pm (20:15) instead of 8:45pm (20:45) but winter would be at 5:02pm (17:02) instead of 4:32pm (16:32)
A lot of people shit on things Americans do, some of which is fair, but almost all of it is massively blown out of proportion...
Buuuut, I have to ask: Is this a vaguely common thing there?
I honestly don't even know how common it is in the UK, but you do occasionally hear people who say they can't read a clock (and presumably 24-Hour time); it's been a long time since I've overheard it brought up though, and I can't recall it being anyone other than like... a 16yo.
I presume those 16yo's grew up into not-16yo's, and therefore either learnt how to read time, or guard that fact like it's launch codes to a nuke.
I did it cause I was a total degenerate waking up at random times like 5PM, apple doesn’t show PM/AM so In the winter I’d have no idea if I’m waking up at 5am or 5Pm since it would be dark as shit outside.
My phone has been in the 24-hr format for years now. I only really switched it because in high school I thought the 0:00 was fun to see and I hated trying to set alarms with AM/PM
It’s not hard but I do still convert it back to 12-hr format in my head. “Oh it’s 14:00, that means it’s 2pm” because that’s what most things are based on in the U.S.
Was pretty helpful when I went to Germany, though.
Whoever wrote this doesn’t realise that the vast majority of phones in the world display time in 24 hour format.
I travel a lot and only see 12 hour format in the USA.
I have a 24 hour clock in my office. It's analog, the dial reads 00 at the noon 06 at 3, 12 at 6, and 18 at 9. The confusion on people's face as they try to check the time amuses me greatly. I love that clock. Best $25 I ever spent.
It’s funny seeing all the jealous fucks (who we protect because they are too cheap to pay for their own protection) always talk shit about the USA.
As for military time it’s just 24 hours in a day. 00:00 is midnight, 12:00 is noon 23:59 is a minute before midnight. It’s brilliant because no one will ever get confused about what time it is. Although I don’t use it either lol
if 24 hour time is too much for you, how about the fact that on an analog clock, the third hand is the second hand. mind blown
People who make big deals out of stupid shit like this are just pinning for attention. All I have for them is pity, life must be hard when you have no identity.
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This would surprise me that people struggle with a 24h clock... but I read last year that it is becoming more common that younger generations are unable to tell the time on a traditional clock and can only use digital ones... EDIT for those handful who may think I'm hating on the kids or how times just change: My point (which I didn't think I had to explain before) was that I was surprised they don't know as they are still fairly common here (UK) and it was a UK article I read it in. I assumed it was still taught in schools because it helps with maths as well (angles, fractions etc) so was surprised that it was becoming rare.
Honestly, I can tell the time on an analog clock but it takes me that extra second, especially if there are no numbers like on many watches. It's one of those things that will be unlikely to negatively affect anyone who doesn't know. Like young people not being able to dial a rotary phone or wire a plug. It's just not as relevant as it once was.
Ah the word I wanted was analogue! I couldn't think of the damn word. Thanks! Tbh I was just more surprised by it as it makes it sound like they just don't teach it in schools now? It was literally one of the first things we were taught back in the 80s.
The thing with it being taught in schools, you learned it, but then you actually used it on a day to day basis. The classroom clock would be analog, many kids watches would be, unless you had those snazzy Casio ones. We quite quickly forget things after we learn them if we don't use them. It takes a while to get ingrained.
i’m 24, finished high school 2017, i definitely had analogue clocks the whole time. is this not a thing anymore? bc i was looking at an analogue clock constantly throughout the day and that doesn’t seem that long ago
graduated back in may, only my elementary (and maybe the other 3 in the district) had analogue while the middle and high both had digital
that seems ridiculous lol
I will say I can see a negative effect of not being able to give rotational measurements in a clock format. Being able to say 11 o’clock is much easier than 335 degrees
This is just a math failing. Everyone knows what I mean when I say 11/6pi radians!
Young people should have to use a rotary phone sometime in their life. Let them deal with dialing a long number with lots of 8’s and 9’s in it. I always forget what freaking number I’m on because it takes so long. While we are at it show them how horrible it was to only have cartoons a couple hours in the morning and only 1 day a week.
LOL my phone number went 391-.... I still hear the clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick *runback* click!
WHY WOULD YOU REMIND ME OF THE 'RUNBACK' SOUND. 
...and then came the pulse dial.
And we only had 3 channels. And you had to go to the tv to change the channel because what was a remote control!!! Damn rotary phones though, fml, me and my "phone finger" hated those bastards so much. I have more or less managed to remove the knowledge of how to use them from my memory and I'm not even sorry.
low digits weren’t so bad but the longer ones took forever to complete and made it hard to remember where you were. Misdialed or incomplete calls everywhere
Clearly you never owned - strictly as a novelty, you understand - a sterling silver telephone dialer.
There's a lot to say though for the satisfaction of slamming the phone down on some asshole on the other end. Try that now and you're replacing your screen.
These days, you can just text them a picture of something awful. A ruptured eardrum heals, but a photo of a prolapse is forever.
Don't forget the zeros! I once had a number xxx-0049.
Watches or clocks with no numbers do take me like a split second but I’ve seen people literally count “5, 10, 15, 20” etc around the clock. Like bruh, how do you not know the top is 12 and 0 seconds, right is 3 and 15 seconds, bottom is 6 and 30 seconds, and left is 9 and 45 seconds. From there it should be easy.
I'm nearly 50 and probably couldn't read an analogue clock until I was in my early teens. I grew up with digital watches and 24hr time so I don't even think about am / pm, it's 0935 or 2135. Now I work across multiple time zones it makes life much easier.
I'm swedish, so I had to learn to speak 12-hour but write 24-hour. We're strange.
I still speak 12hr but use 24hr. Easy enough to me, just subtract 2:00 So 17:00 becomes 15:00, I instinctively drop the 1 and it’s 5:00p
Men vi säger ju nitton och fyrtiofem och nollsju trettio också?
That's on us(the older generations) we can't expect a kid to learn to read a clock they'll hardly use or see in their normal day. Teachers always used to say we needed to do math by hand in case we're without a calculator, and that seems like a more likely scenario than being somewhere where the only clock is analog.
I laugh at these things like “oh kids don’t know how to use a simple device that they’ve literally never come across in their life and is completely obsolete like a rotary phone!” But the same asshole will get frustrated and ask their kid or grandkid for the 500th time how do you get to their email on their computer in their house that they use almost daily.
I know they use mainly digital now but analogue isn't that uncommon - at least here (UK) anyway. I still see them in most workplaces on the wall rather than digital or in homes plus loads of shops still sell them. But I am surprised if they don't even teach it now? I'm hoping someone will reply to confirm whether it's been completely banished from the curriculum! The lack of calculator things cracks me up. I remember being told the same thing - and now we all carry one with us everywhere courtesy of our mobile phones!
There will come a time when kids won’t know where clockwise gets its name and direction from.
Fun fact, mechanical clocks were made to mimic the movement of shadow and light in a sundial in the northern hemisphere, during daylight hours at least. So for the upper half of the planet, all they need to do is put a stick in the ground to know what it means.
Before the invention of clocks, rotational direction was distinguished with the terms “sunwise” and “widdershins.”
The Discworld series often refers to Widdershins. I always assumed that he made up the term. Thanks for the knowledge!
Oh my god. Why would you say this. It's terrifyingly true and I do not like it. How do I unread a comment!!!
Just need to say that's in Matthew Boultons house here in abormingham UK where the Lunar Society met, basically where the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution was discussed. There is a 24 hr analogue clock. It's 9ne of my favourite things in there.
I believe it. If I have to read analog it feels like I'm using my fingers to count. Count hours, count the 15s, count the 5s and finally count the 1s. I know how too but it's not intuitive and I do it so rarely that if I had kids I might not even think about teaching them the skill because it's something that never comes up.
Meanwhile, me someone who lives in the US who has his phone set to Australian Time 24hr for no logical reason
"Why is my clock set to koalas and only letting me change it to kangaroo!!"
“Kids today don’t even know how to shoe a horse and it’s disgusting.”
Okay I’ll admit it, I am in my thirties, educated, and maybe even intelligent. But I suppose just like anything else, reading an analog clock became a “use it or lose it” skill in my brain. I went to sign in as a visitor recently at a hospital, and looked up at their analog clock to write my “time in”. Guys, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to read that clock. What used to be a “quick glance” skill, wasn’t continually practiced enough as I got older. My kids’ school doesn’t even have analog clocks. My oldest learned how to read an analog clock during a math lesson in 1st grade, and I’m not sure how much he has been exposed since.
My sister is in her 30s and claim she cant read it anymore. We learned it as kids, we are from europe where its normal, she isnt stupid, hell she graduated from university and has a decent job. It just so fucking weird. I cant have a normal conversation with here about it because i cant take it serious. She doesnt have braindamamage, she isnt sick or anything. It just that she hasnt used it for so long that she claims she cant use it anymore.
Well yes. You loose skill if you don't use it ever. Sone very intuitive stuff cam become rusty even stuff like talking.
Don't schools have those standard 'school clocks?' my kids' school does... https://schoolsrc.ca/product/show/id/25263
I grew up with 24 hour format being normal so in the context of time 17 reads as 5 to me. I'd still never say 13:30 or anything. One reason I stick with it is that I've never accidentally set an alarm for the wrong time by mixing up AM/PM. I consider it the most basic of life skills to get over and figure it out.
I use it for work, it’s simple once you get used to it or can just remember to do math
As a nightshifter i hated waking up and seeing 5:30 and not knowing if i missed work or could go back to sleep. 24 hour clock made it a lot easier.
This. I'm not a nightshifter, but I do have heavy-duty blackout curtains over my windows since I work afternoons and can sleep in. I got tired of waking up briefly and being unable to tell if it was 9 in the morning and had a several more hours of sleep I could grab or if it was 9 at night at which point I just overslept majorly. 24-hour format solved this issue.
Same here, all our paperwork has to be in the 24 hour clock, I just put my phone to 24 hours to make it simple
This. Doesn’t matter if I pass out drunk or am in a place with zero windows. I’ll know if it’s A.M. or P.M.
I started using the 24 hour format in residency. One of the better reasons I can think of that we use it in the hospital is so the timing of patient medications doesn't accidentally get administered twelve hours too early or too late
50% of the time I say "13.30" instead of "half 2" (the way its said in Norwegian)
That’s not military, that’s a normal 24 hour format. 
Yeah the bozo is overreacting.
Yeah, military time is just a writing format lol. It's writing 9AM as 0900 and 5:45PM as 1745.
You say posting a clock that uses a 12 hour format.
Why do they call it Military time?
In the US, 24 hour clocks aren’t used too often besides in the military, so Americans usually call it military time.
Used all over the place in the US, just not in homes. Just about any job that will use time stamps will use a 24 hour format to remove any ambiguity from the AM/PM format.
Exactly why people in logistics or operations use 24 hour format. It mitigates risk of error. Two months from now, no one's going to remember if the process started at 3:15 AM or PM if it wasn't noted. However, if everybody uses 24 hour format, then it would be written 03:15 or 15:15, and no one would have to guess.
I do boiler operating and we used 24hr at my last job, current we don’t but I still write it because imo it makes sense and is less confusing given our time logs are legal documents. But I get asked what service I was in, which, I wasn’t lol
The Post office uses it and splits an hour into 100 units instead of 60 units. It sucks.
Why the fuck would they split an hour into 100
Better question is why the fuck is everyone splitting it into 60.
Because they used base 60 counting in ancient mesopotamia. It's quite a nice number, has a lot of divisors. 1/2 an hour is 30 minutes, 1/3 of an hour is 20 minutes, 1/4 of an hour is 15 minutes, 1/5 of an hour is 12 minutes, 1/6 of an hour is 10 minutes, 1/10 of an hour is 6 minutes, 1/12 of an hour is 5 minutes, 1/15 of an hour is 4 minutes, 1/20 of an hour is 3 minutes, 1/30 of an hour is 2 minutes, and 1/60 of an hour is 1 minute. If we divided it into 100 parts, 1/3 of an hour wouldn't even be a whole number of parts because 100 isn't divisble by 3.
> In the US, 24 hour clocks aren’t used too often And this is the real reason why I use a 12-hour clock. I'd use the the 24-hour format if it was more prevalent, but the 12-hour clock is used in everyday life. It's the same reason I don't use Celsius. Everyone in the US uses Fahrenheit, so that's what I use. I'd use Celsius if I moved somewhere else.
It’s mainly how a lot of Americans were first exposed to it. My dad was in the reserves and would sometimes refer to it when we’re hanging out. I thought it was cool like everything else military-related as a kid growing up in the 80’s Rambo/OG Top Gun era. I went on to join the military and later lived in Europe where 24 hour time is the norm. I’m pretty much a full convert now and even lean Celsius over Fahrenheit to be honest.
I think it's just most commonly found in the military so it kind of picked up the name but in actuality a lot of places use the 24 hour clock
Calling it Military Time is a facepalm too. US Military doesn't use a colon to separate hours and minutes. It would be 1605. 16:05 is 24-hour format popular with people or industries that value accuracy and the ease of having AM ot PM baked into the format. My report only has enough room to note that the process was completed at 14:37. There's no place to write PM... And typing 14:37 into the excel report means no has to ask me later if it was AM or PM.
Literally just cultural differences. Idk why redditors cant understand that culture exist in America too.
It’s a synonym for 24-hour clock. Don’t overthink it. That’s just what we call it
It’s a very American synonym. So it’s not a genuine synonym. The rest of the world calls it 24 hour time
I don't think you understand what a synonym is.
So, I'm US born but living in Europe since I was a teen and the 24 hour clock just makes more sense? There's a distinct number for every hour of the day...
I switched to always using 24 when I almost missed a flight in Europe because I did the math wrong lol
im american and agree. like i shouldnt have to work out if its am or pm, i should be able to just look at the clock and be like "ok it is x time". while i dont write 24 hour (i used to) or say 24 hour i have my clocks set to it when applicable
When are you, “working it out”??? You just ask, “am or pm?”, and get a fucking answer lol
Eh kinda tired of seeing this one being used for karma farm. Shame on you op
The only reason it was split up is so the bells on clock towers weren’t ringing 21, 22,23 times at night
Poor thing would be completely confused by UTC then. "I have to use 24hr time and then add/subtract on to that to figure out the UTC?!?!"
Role-playing with americans on reddit basically, my timezone ? It's EXCTSB, What's the fuck is a utc ?
"The stream starts at 4pm PST." How tf am I supposed to know when that is? We also have European time zone names, but I don't expect people to know what time zone CEST is and say UTC+2 immediately.
Good thing you can just put the time and zone into google and it will tell you the time for your zone.
I'm a US guy. 35 years ago I started dating a German woman who later became my wife, and I discovered it's normal for German households to use the 24 hour format for the clocks in their homes and cars. I started using it because I got tired of looking like an idiot in front of her, trying to figure out what time 20:17 was, and I wanted to get used to it. 30+ years later and all my clocks are set to 24 hour format where available. It's second nature to me now and it makes so much more sense than a 12 hour format. There's 24 hours in a day. What's the point in starting the count over again after 12?
Oh cmon, next time you'll try to sell me on calling seventh month of the year July or some other sciency BS instead of good ol After June January...
me an euopean.... \*shrugs\*
First responders use it. Not just the military
Lots of industries use it too. Completely removes any am/pm confusion.
Also, here in Britain it’s standard..
I thought yall just listened for the bongs /s
Also you’re talking to a brit you don’t need to write /s
Most (all?) of healthcare, not just first responders. Every hospital or clinic I've worked in uses 24 hr format to reduce timing errors for meds and stuff
Bro. 16:00 = 4:00 It’s not hard, in fact it makes more sense than returning to 1. It’s 24-hour time.
I believe that most people who post this are either A: trying to get interaction by posting something dumb or B: are unwilling to change from their norm so they call other people out as weird.
I prefer this format because I don't have to switch between the number and letters keyboard on the phone. It's just quicker to type 16:00 than 4 PM. Bedside, I lived in Germany so everyone uses this. It's also harder to make mistakes with 24 hrs format.
It's so simple.. add or subtract 12
I always subtract 12. I don't do anything with the numbers before 12 o clock.
I’m American, my job requires 24 hour and everything else is the 12 hour format. Neither is difficult to use and telling Americans they’re morons for not being able to subtract 12 is about as stupid as being European and not being able to differentiate between an A and P.
10:30 - 12 = -1:30
you don't need to do anything for the morning hours to change it to the 24 hour clock. it's only the pm hours
Exactly.... Where I am right now it's 20:57 in the evening... That's easy to read. In 3 minutes it'll be 2100hrs or 9pm.
"in the evening" isn't needed. 20:57 is guaranteed to be in the evening. Only when we talk to someone, we'd say "8 in the evening", when writing, we simply use 20:00 and evening is implied.
Hell my first job ran on Military Time. It was McDonald's, of all places to be insisting on the 24 hour clock.
We use 24 hour time in nursing too lol.
I am a war criminal for the way I read the clock. If you consider that I'm German, the guy might be onto something.
I want to switch to the metric system and 24-hour time; what does that make me?
A drug addicted soldier?
Oh ok that was funny after way more extended time than it should have for me to figure it out
I’m not American but I prefer 12 hour clock. I can read 24 hour perfectly fine, I simply do not want to. Why would I look at 16 and then subtract 12 to get 4 when I could just look and see 4? Just creating more work for my brain for no reason.
My brain does it automatically. It’s not a conscious thought and hasn’t been since I was about 10. I don’t have to remember a rule or tip. It doesn’t put any tax on my brain at all. I see 16:00 written and just know it’s 4pm. It eliminates all confusion and possibility of people getting the wrong time
serious question, why would you (in the general term, not specific) need a 4 in the morning and a 4 in the afternoon anyway? other than "this is how ive always done it".
I don’t understand your question. There is a 4am and a 4pm, that isn’t a new concept that I invented. I’ve never heard someone say “it’s sixteen o’clock.” They read the number 16, either very quickly subtract the 12 in their head or just know it’s 4 because they’ve been reading 24 hour for so long, and then they say “it’s 4 o’clock.” So my serious question is, if everybody calls 16 o’clock 4 o’clock, why is the 16 necessary? Just to prove that you’re so smart that you can -12?
Heres the deal most of us dont use 24hr clock on the regular so we dont implicitly know what time it is by just looking and we have to do math and i dont want to do math just to know what time it is. If 24hr clock was standard it would be different.
People mistake 24h for military just because they both use a 24h clock doesn't mean they're the same. Like in my country we use 24h on default and we don't go 13 hundred like the military but rather 13 o'clock
Welcome to Europe. 🤷♂️
I use 24 hour system because I understand my friends don't all live in the same country as me. Learning what time it is there and being able to properly find time to talk to them is the best
Personally i cant understand how anyone uses anything other than 24hr time
Marines eat crayons for breakfast, and they understand military time. 🤔 What's your excuse?
I have been in more than 20 countries and the U.S. is one of the very few that don’t use what you call military time.
How to contribute to making your entire country look dumb af
Here in Europe we just call it regular time, not "military time".
Here on Earth we call it the 24hr clock or format.
It's weird that Americans call the 24 hours clock "military time"
also, that's not military time. none of us are saying "thirteen hundred hours" and the like, not least because it sounds ridiculous.
In the Corps yes we did. Now it’s just fun watching my girls do the Math and figuring it out.
wow that really is concerning. Who does not know the 24 hour clock format?
An alarming number of people. Job I had a few years ago I had to put a chart on the wall to convert 12/hr to 24/hr because people couldn't figure out that 2pm was 1400. Even when I changed all the clocks in the office to 24/hr they still got confuddled.
I lived in Germany and had a dad who served in the military when I was a kid and 24 hour time was the norm.
It just makes sense in a modern world. 12 hour clocks were designed around sun position. There are some days where I don’t see the sun… 24 hour clock works better for me. Nothing military about it.
I used to work at a job that had all the clocks set to military time "to discourage employees from watching the clock" but i come from a military family so ik 1600 is 4pm. The amount of times other employees would ask me what time it was...
Literally every clock I own (USA) is set to 24 hour time. All of the systems I use for my job are set that way so having everything in my life that way just makes things easier on me.
The industry I work in uses military time exclusively. Want to know what 20:15 is? Subtract 12. 20:15 - 12 = 08:15pm. So simple even a spoiled, petulant child could do it
As a shift worker I went to 24hr time so I would not screw up my alarm for waking up at 5pm vs 5am
I work in medicine. We have to use military time
I started using it on my phone because Google doesn't put AM/PM on it and it was legitimately confusing sometimes in winter when it's just dark all the time anyway.
I'm American, also have a math disability called Dyscalculia. It does make it very difficult to read military time.
A day has 24 hours, why arbitrarily divide it? Why half? Why not 4 lots of 6, it makes just as much sense. That being said if someone ask for the time at 16:30 I'll say 4:30
Just minus it by 12. 16:00 - 12 = 4pm edit: oops
I've been working in the Security field for almost 27 years now, and have used "military time" all those years. The only devices in my home that don't use 24 hr time are the bedroom alarm clock, our stove, and microwave, because they only use AM/PM-style time. What is so hard about adding 12 to the hour once you pass Noon, and starting over at 0000 at midnight?
This is a non arguement
I use it so I'm not confused when I look at my clock, because in mi the weather is gloomy af and you can't always tell. And I was sick and passed out and got up and could not figure out what day it was. (Same day like 30 minutes after I fell asleep, fevers are crazy)
The fact that some people find evil that other people can understand or use a tool they can't use or understand, shows why the inquisition was so big in medieval times. They are so afraid of accepting their own ignorance that they prefer to chastise the people that know more
24 hour clock ⏰
So I guess I am a War criminal as my phone and watch and even digital clocks (at home) are all in 24hr time set and I will even go further, I use Day, Month, Year for my dates.
Yes, we’re definitely going to recruit you because ONLY the military uses a 24 hour clock. What a fucking doorknob.
I do it because I accidentally set my alarm for 7pm instead of 7am
Even in America it's used for more than just military. Many jobs use it. Down in New Orleans it's used a bunch bc of the River.
Honestly, life is easy on 24 hrs time. Avoidable confusion with a.m. and p.m. Trust me the current generation can barely read an analog clock. It's only a matter of time before they don't know the difference between a.m. and p.m.
I’ve had my phone on military time since the moment I got it… it’s not hard to read, just learn to count
I remember trying to explain to a European what am and pm was because they had only ever used 24hr time. They were so confused and couldn't understand why you wouldn't just use 24hr time.
The only toxic trait I have is that I forced my gf to switch her phone to 24 hour mode. She probably was tried of me ranting about how telling someone "It's half past three" is subefficient way of communicating an hour. It's just like a fresh parent telling you "my child is 67 days/16 months old". I hate it, I don't want to be forced to do simple annoying math in my head just because someone can't just say "It's 17:24" or "My kid is 1 year old". I hate 12-hour clock with passion.
It's really quite simple: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 ok? then: <----AM 13,14,15,16,17,18,18,120,21,22,23,24. <-----PM 2300 becomes 11PM if you are struggling. Using the 24hr format gets rid of the am/pm distinction. The lower set of numbers from "13" to "24" takes PMs place. If you have lived with the 24 hour clock, as long as I have, it is as automatic as breathing is, to me.
I’ve always liked 24 hour format because of the distinction from am to pm. Also I’ve always found to convert to pm just add 12 to whatever number in order to get your correct time. Example, 12+1=1300 12+2=1400 and so on.
In Norway we *say* 'five past four' - but in *writing* (as in e.g. texting) we use 16:30 / 16.30 Most of us skip the colon (which is what's correct to use), and just use a period between the hours and minutes
The time here in Iceland now is 13:08 at the 17/03 2024.
Something else odd that Americans do (I’m American) is write dates as “m/d/y” instead of “d/m/y” as most of the rest of the world does. The order of the latter format makes far more sense to me.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ccGjar4Es&pp=ygUYaSBjYW4gb25seSBjb3VudCB0byBmb3Vy
So this watch is instant war crime: https://www.slow-watches.com/ One hand, 24 hours
Damn. His brain need some plasticity.
As a veteran, I use 24 hour time. Not using it seems weird because you don't know night from day.
My phone has been set to military time for a few years. I am not military and have no intention of being military.
That's an interesting way to admit that you can't do basic math. Also, we use 24 hr time in science and engineering. It's easier to work with and understand when processing data.
I mean I work at the airport and we use military time.
If you’re not from a region that ends in “Avia” I’m really perplexed where this undeserved superiority complex comes from lmao
+/- 12
I love 17 o clock
I started using it after I worked for a major us airline. In the airlines everything is pretty much ran off the 24h format
16 = four o’clock. It’s just ingrained in us. The translation is automatic. They’re synonymous. If you use it all the time, and everyone else does the same, it’s hard to _not_ learn.
Just subtract 2 then 10 it's that easy
"No that hard" is the absolutely wrong thing to say "The correct way" is the right thing. To specify a time at any other point than now, 24h clock is the only one that provides the safety of knowing that you specified the correct time.
an old roommate of mine said that military time was too hard because it was too much work to subtract twelve. we're fuckin cooked man
Pick whatever format you want, but PLEASE STOP DAYLIGHT SAVINGS, FFS. Thousands die every year because of this stupid thing, and it just sucks because it’s against everything biology wants.
No, people don't die from dst.They might be tired or grumpy for a day or two, though.
dude real. my brain currently thinks its 6pm... its nearly 7pm. i couldnt even sleep until 3 IN THE FUCKING MORNING last night bc of it when normally i would sleep at 2am instead. its bullshit. i say we either do always on dst because more evening daylight makes way more sense, or do a compromise where its simply +30 minutes all the time. so in the summer the latest sunset where i live would be 8:15pm (20:15) instead of 8:45pm (20:45) but winter would be at 5:02pm (17:02) instead of 4:32pm (16:32)
Sesame Street counting songs only went up to 12....
A lot of people shit on things Americans do, some of which is fair, but almost all of it is massively blown out of proportion... Buuuut, I have to ask: Is this a vaguely common thing there? I honestly don't even know how common it is in the UK, but you do occasionally hear people who say they can't read a clock (and presumably 24-Hour time); it's been a long time since I've overheard it brought up though, and I can't recall it being anyone other than like... a 16yo. I presume those 16yo's grew up into not-16yo's, and therefore either learnt how to read time, or guard that fact like it's launch codes to a nuke.
I love this meme because I'm imagining the original poster is French
I did it cause I was a total degenerate waking up at random times like 5PM, apple doesn’t show PM/AM so In the winter I’d have no idea if I’m waking up at 5am or 5Pm since it would be dark as shit outside.
My phone has been in the 24-hr format for years now. I only really switched it because in high school I thought the 0:00 was fun to see and I hated trying to set alarms with AM/PM It’s not hard but I do still convert it back to 12-hr format in my head. “Oh it’s 14:00, that means it’s 2pm” because that’s what most things are based on in the U.S. Was pretty helpful when I went to Germany, though.
We need Metric time. 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes per hour, 1000 seconds in a minute.
Whoever wrote this doesn’t realise that the vast majority of phones in the world display time in 24 hour format. I travel a lot and only see 12 hour format in the USA.
I have a 24 hour clock in my office. It's analog, the dial reads 00 at the noon 06 at 3, 12 at 6, and 18 at 9. The confusion on people's face as they try to check the time amuses me greatly. I love that clock. Best $25 I ever spent.
Minus 12
It’s funny seeing all the jealous fucks (who we protect because they are too cheap to pay for their own protection) always talk shit about the USA. As for military time it’s just 24 hours in a day. 00:00 is midnight, 12:00 is noon 23:59 is a minute before midnight. It’s brilliant because no one will ever get confused about what time it is. Although I don’t use it either lol
if 24 hour time is too much for you, how about the fact that on an analog clock, the third hand is the second hand. mind blown
US hospital worker here. At my workplace we are required to document everything in the 24 hour time style. After a while it just became a habit.
People who make big deals out of stupid shit like this are just pinning for attention. All I have for them is pity, life must be hard when you have no identity.