this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2024
432 points (95.8% liked)
Showerthoughts
29805 readers
769 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics
- 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
- 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
- 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Well, you could say "fourteen twenty" too.
But if "fourteen twenty" was a year we would think its "1420".
Likewise, 1400 is "fourteen hundred" and not "14:00"
Some military standards make a lot of sense, there's no problem adopting it if it's clear.
But 14:00 is what the time is and what the clock shows, not 1400. So I would say 14 o'clock if not 2 o'clock. Would you say "it's nine hundred in the morning" too? Again, it's hours not hundreds. I'm sorry but I don't understand why you're talking about years.
For context my country uses 24h time and I grew up with it.
It is objectively wrong to say 14 o'clock, because "o'clock" refers to the orientation of an analogue clock.
Saying "it's nine in the morning" is redundant in a 24 hour system, because nine would never be anything other than that.
To say 'it's nine hundred" reduces the ambiguity slightly (because you can't really say o'clock).
If you simply say "it's nine" then other people might ask "what's nine?"
Is it "nine past nine"? Or are you telling me "no" in German?
Nine hundred is pretty clear, but not to our primitive ears