Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-11-14
THE DAYS AND HOURS

I l.ll ~ UAL YS and HOURS
ORIGIN OF OUR SYSTEM or The
DIVISION or TIME.
~ Was Devised ~ the Babylonians,
VI Who Wsre : very Clever People,
Was Adopted ~ the Greeks ana
Has Survived Through All ChaAEss.
e you pull your watch out Of your
pocket you viii have in your hand one
Of the most wonderful pieces d ma
chinery ever constructed. Think how
1t works throughout the day and night
and how It keeps 1t up year in, year out.
Think how the second hand points to
1890 divisions Of time during every
hour. It never sleeps. Ii. l @s a:5
lit is like the average watch, it will
be built up Of no fewer than IT'S differ
ent pieces. These pieces will have
passed through more than 2,4OO sep
arate operations, each being a distinct
form Of manufacture. a. nj
The fourth jewel wheel screw Is 80
very small that it is almost invisible.
To the naked eye it appears to be but a
speck Of dust. When examined under
a magnifying glass it will be seen to
be a perfect screw, having 260 threads
to the inch, each thread being well
cut. Actually the diameter Of this
screw is so little as the four ne-thou-
sandth part Of an inch, and it would
take no less a number than 10000
similar screws in order to fill an or
binary thimble as used by the ladies. :.
Each screw has 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 hundred screws are
placed in each frame, and the frames
are attached to machine which pol
ishes the heads Of the screws 10000 at
q time. 5.y %< i,s' ....
1t will be seen how marvellous these
screws are, yet one Of them forms but
one tiny piece Of a watch. Still, this
will show the remarkable nature of that
everyday article. When special watches
are considered there is indeed room for
wonder. s
For instance, take the watch which
was presented to Catherine I. 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 q 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 sweet strains of music would be
heard. This remarkable watch took
nine years uninterrupted labor in Or
der to construct. a. .,.
The first clock in. any way resem-
bling those in use at present was made
by Henry Wick in the year 1870, and it
was made for Charles v. Of France.
This monarch was surnamed the Wise,
but his education was imperfect in
many respects, and he knew it well.
As q 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 it's working, SO he criticised
the figures on the dial. II
k He told the maker that he had made
q grievous error, as the figures to de-
note the hour of 4 should be four rs.
Poor Wick ventured to tell the king
that he was wrong II am never
wrong!" Numbered the; irate monarch.
! Take the clock away and correct the
mistake ct once upon pain of my dis
pleasurer' 4. =. hi.
Wick had to do as 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 II the correct
Enumeration were 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? E ..'.,,. = =.
The reason is very simple. It is be-
cause the people Of Babylon reckoned
not only by decimal system Of nota-
ton, but also by sexagesimal sys-
tenn. That is to say, they not only
reckoned by tens, but also by sixties.
The Babylonians were very clever peo-
pie. and they saw that the decimal sys-
tenn was by no means the best
They knew that no number had 10
many divisors as has sixty. .rs
How about the division OF the day
into hours2 The Babylonians began by
comparing the progress made by the
sun on its daily Journey to the distance
covered by good walker, this being
H.. y AZ