Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-12-20
THE DAYS MD HOURS
ORIGIN OF our SYSTEM OF THE
DIVISION OF TIME.

'.'"N"> VT Oot orSlcm Of lne
DIVISION OF TIME.
IL Was Devised by the Babylonians,
Who We're u Very Clever People,
Was Adopted by the Greeks and
Hns Survived Through All Changes.
If you pull your watch out of your
pocket you will have in your hand one
of the most wonderful pieces of ma
chinery ever constructed. Think how
it works throughout the day and night
and how 1t keeps it up year In, year out.
Think how the second hand points to
5000 divisions of time during every
hour. 1t never sleeps.
Ii it is like the average watch, it will
be built up of no fewer than 175 differ
ent pieces. These pieces will have
passed through more than 2.4OO sep
arate operations, each being distinct
form of manufacture.
The fourth jewel wheel screw Is so
10 the naked eye 1t appears to be but
speed: OF dust. When examined under
IL inasnifying glass it will be seen to
be Il perfect screw, having 26O threads
to the inch, each thread being well
CIT. Actually the diameter Of this
screw is SO little as the four one thou
saidth part of an inch, and 1t would
take no less number than 100000
similar screws in order to fill an or
Ginary thimble as used by the ladies'.
Each screw las Il double head and
has to be hardened After the harden
ing process the screws are arranged in
frames, being placed In with the heads
upward. This delicate operation is
done by the sense of touch alone In.
stead Of by sight. and great rapidity
marks the skillful operator. Some
where about n hundred screws are
placed III each frame, and the frames
are attached to u machine which pol
ishcs the heads of the screws 10000 Mt
a time.
1t will be seen how marvellous these
screws are, yet one of them forms but
one tiny piece of Il watch. sStill, this
will show the remarkable nature of that
everyday article. When special watches
are considered there Is indeed room for
wonder.
Fc: Instance, take the watch which
was presented to Catherine l. on her
coronation as empress of Russia. This
watch was one of the most remarkably
constructed instruments ever made.
On the opposite side of the works of
this extraordinary timekeeper there
was an exact representation Of the
holy sepulcher, with carved image
Of the Roman guard stationed outside
1t. AS soon as the watch case was
opened the imitation rocks would roll
away from the mouth of the sepulcher,
the soldier would kneel, angels would
appear at opposite sides Of the opening,
and swcat strains Of music would be-
heard. This remarkable watch took
nine years uninterrupted labor In or
der to construct.
The first clock in any way resem-
bling those in use at present was made
by Henry Wick in the year 1870, and 1t
was made for Charles V. Of France.
This monarch was surnamed the Wise,
but his education was imperfect In
many respects, and he knew 1t well.
AS result he was very obstinate in
his claim to know everything. He
showed this obstinacy when Wick
brought the new timepiece for his ap-
proval. The king could not find any
fault with its working, SO he criticised
the figures on the dial.
He told the maker that he had made
grievous error, us the figures to de-
note the hour of 4 should be four rs.
Poor Vick ventured to tell the king
that he was wrong. II am never
wrongv' thundered the irate monarch.
Take the clock away and correct the
mistake at once upon pain Of my dis
pleasure!"
Wick had to do us he was told, with
the result that all our timepieces have
the fourth hour labeled I'LL instead Of
Nv, as should be the case IL the correct
numeration We're followed.
How many people have the slightest
notion why sixty seconds make min
ute and why the hour is divided into
sixty minutes, and SO on? Why are
there not ten hours to the day and ten
to the night!
The reason is very simple. 1t is be-
cause the people Of Babylon reckoned
not only by Il decimal system of nota-
ton, but also by seXagesimal sys-
TEN. That is to say, they not only
reckoned by tens, but also by sixties.
The Babylonians We're very clever peo-
pie, and they saw that the decimal sys-
TEN was by no means the best.
They knew that no number had so
many divisors as has sixty.
How about the division Of the day
into hours? The Babylonians began by
comparing the progress made by the
sun on It's daily journey to tile distance
covered by good walker, this being
done at the time Of the equinox. The
astronomers divided the SUMS journey
into twenty-four parsangs, whence our
| hours.
The Babylonian system was adopted
by the Greeks. 1t is one Of the most
remarkable facts of history that the
| system has survived through every
change made since the days OF Baby
lonia. When the the French revolu-
tionized all weights and measures, 60
ing SO far as to alter the days OF the
week, still they left the old system of
notation so far as regarded the reckon
ing Of the flight of time. Even our own
lovers Of the decimal notation do not
suggest that the old sexagesimal meth
od of reckoning time should be altered.
-Pearson's Weekly.
| Condemned.
Diner-Give me plate o pork and
beans and hurry 'em up. Waiter
| (shoutinp)-Chicapo and Roston ex