1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,880 Speaker 1: I guess what mango was that. Well, I remember you 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: met my grandfather before he passed away a few years back, 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: but I can't remember. Did I ever tell you how 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: much he loved clocks and watches. I don't think I 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: knew that. I mean I knew they used to go antiquing. Yeah, 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: so when I was a kid, he ran this small 7 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: flooring business. This was in Huntsville, Alabama, and you know, 8 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: at the front of his shop there he also had 9 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: this collection of antiques and it was kind of like 10 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: its own little antique shop, and he'd sell and trade 11 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: pieces that he'd find. It shows around the Southeast, and 12 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:34,959 Speaker 1: it was one of my favorite places to be when 13 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: I visited him. I'd either be hiding in the back 14 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: and the rolls of carpet, pretending I was doing something 15 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: really important at this antique roll top desk he kept 16 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: in there. But you know, it always seemed like my 17 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: granddad's favorite things to collect and trade were these old 18 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: clocks and watches. So if you were in the shop 19 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: or at his home and you weren't used to it, 20 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: at the ticking and the chiming of all those clocks 21 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: could just make people crazy. But I always loved it, 22 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: but it was kind of strange because he didn't seem 23 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: to be looking for the fanciest or the most expensive 24 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: watches he could find. He just liked to find ones 25 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: that were interesting to him. He'd sometimes see him wearing 26 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: a watch that you hadn't seen before, and if you 27 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: asked him where he'd gotten it, he'd just say, well, 28 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: your cousin Sam and I liked each other's watches, so 29 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: we just trade it. And it was just kind of 30 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: the way he was. He just liked having him and 31 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: have other people get to experience them as well. But 32 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: you know, my grandfather is obviously not alone in his 33 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: fascination with time pieces and time in general, and the 34 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,559 Speaker 1: way we think about and talk about time has changed 35 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 1: so much over the years, from the birth of time 36 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: zones to thinking about time travel, to the disputes around 37 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: what official time actually is. They're just so much we 38 00:01:45,680 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: want to get to today, So let's dive in. Yea, 39 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 1: Hey there, podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 40 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: Will Pearson, and as always I'm joined by my good 41 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: friend Manges Ticketer and on the other side of the 42 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: soundproof glass showing off his brand new Omega speed Master watch. 43 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: That's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now, I don't 44 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: know if you know this, Mango, but right there is 45 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: the infamous Moonwatch. Oh my god, Tristess told me like 46 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: twenty times already this morning. That's a moon watch. Such 47 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: a show off. I know the speed Master has been 48 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: like the go to watch for NASA for like, you know, 49 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: ever since, even before the moon landings took place. But 50 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: I do think it's really nerdy and really cool that 51 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: he has one. Well I would probably be sporting it 52 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: too if I had one. But if you're listening, Omega, 53 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: you can always throw us a couple of moon Watches 54 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: our way. So we're we're here, you know how to 55 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,639 Speaker 1: find us, And a little bit later we'll talk about 56 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: exactly why NASA is so big on the speed Man 57 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,239 Speaker 1: Estra brand, as well as the stories behind a few 58 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: other clocks and watches. But you know, before we get 59 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: to the specific timekeepers, I thought we should kick things 60 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: off by talking a little bit about time itself. I mean, 61 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: it's really the thing that drives and defines our lives 62 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: in so many ways, And you think about how off 63 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: and we talk about it, we spend it we save it, 64 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: we waste it, we treasure it. But what even is time? 65 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: I mean, is it an intrinsic part of the universe 66 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: or just something we made up? So I want to 67 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: turn this over to you, man, go and see if 68 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: you can just go ahead and tell us, like, what 69 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: is time? Over to you? Yeah, I'm sure in like 70 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: two minutes I'll be able to get through what time is. 71 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: It could be awesome. I mean, quantum physicists aren't even 72 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: convinced that time exists, so I think it would take 73 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: a little more explaining than we can give it. But uh, 74 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: maybe we should just say it's not a thing. Yeah, 75 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: that's that. That might be the answer. End of episode. 76 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: But I mean, I think what they're arguing is more 77 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: that time doesn't exist in the way that we usually 78 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: think about it, you know, as this kind of ever 79 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: moving line that only goes in one direct action, and 80 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: physicists would say time is a little bit more like space. 81 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: All of it just sort of exists at once and 82 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: doesn't actually unfold in this chain of moments, which of 83 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: course is the way we as humans perceive it. Yeah, 84 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe a better answer for people it's 85 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: just like time is the stuff clocks run on, and 86 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: I feel like that feels like a suitable answer. I 87 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: feel like I can get behind that for this episode. 88 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: I mean, I think we're more interested in the way 89 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: that humans perceive and talk about time, So we'll probably 90 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: leave relativity and causality for another episode because it's all 91 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: fascinating stuff. But I like your idea of how to 92 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: frame this for today. So one thing I think it's fascinating, 93 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: and it's something you mentioned, is how we experience time 94 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: as a chain of moments. But have you ever stopped 95 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: to think about how long exactly a moment is? You mean, 96 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: like numerically or what I mean. I feel like a 97 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: moment is just like that, just like a snap. That's it. 98 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: That's how long a moment is, isn't it. Yeah. I mean, 99 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: as scientific as that system you've given us sounds like 100 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: it sures out we used to be a lot more 101 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: precise about moments than we are today. In fact, this 102 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: is actually something I hadn't heard before this week. But 103 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: apparently there was once a widely accepted definition for exactly 104 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: how long a moment lasts. And this was true from 105 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,679 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages all the way up through the nineteenth century. 106 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 1: So this definition was that a moment was precisely one 107 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: hour or about nine seconds one forty Are you joking 108 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: that that seems way too long? I'm telling you, mango, 109 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: a moment. It's just that a moment, just a snap 110 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: of what a moment is. So I actually agree with you. 111 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: I I lean more in that direction. But a moment 112 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: in history is actually like an era, or it could 113 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: be an entire decade of social upheaval, and it can 114 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 1: really be as long or short as you wanted to be. 115 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: And I think that kind of highlights the disparity between 116 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: our approach to keeping track of time and the way 117 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: we actually think about it. I mean, we we use 118 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: like complex things like the movements of stars and the 119 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: radiation cycles of atoms to establish this sense of accurate timekeeping, 120 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 1: and then all convinces ourselves that there is such a 121 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: thing as correct time. But you know, for all the 122 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: science and the precision behind those systems, we all still 123 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: perceive and speak about time in an incredibly subjective way. Yeah, 124 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: that's a good point, And I do think in a 125 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: really meaningful sense, time is something of a you know, 126 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: more of a social construct, and you forget about moments 127 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: and minutes because we also measure time with concepts derived 128 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: from our socialization. I mean, think about things like work 129 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: days and weekends and being on time or fashionably late. 130 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: I mean, all of these things are ways of marking 131 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: time that we're definitely born from humans living and working together. 132 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: And what's interesting is that because every society is different, 133 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: there actually has a lot of variants out there when 134 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: it comes to perceiving and talking about time. In fact, 135 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: listen to this breakdown of how different cultures view time. 136 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: There was this article from uh Science Daily, and so 137 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: here's what they had to say about it. Different languages 138 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: also embodied different worldviews, different ways of organizing the world 139 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: around us, and time is a case in point. For example, 140 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: Swedish and English speakers prefer to mark the duration of 141 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: events by referring to physical distances for example a short break, 142 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: a long wedding, The passage of time is perceived as 143 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: distance traveled. But Greek and Spanish speakers tend to mark 144 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: time by referring to physical quantities for example a small 145 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: break or a big wedding. The passage of time is 146 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 1: perceived as growing volume. You know, I always love hearing 147 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: how other cultures handled their spatial metaphors. And you know, 148 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: for instance, I was reading in Scientific American about this 149 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: secluded group of tribes people in Papua New Guinea and 150 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: they're called the yup No, and they live in these 151 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: remote villages way up in the mountains, and they don't 152 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: have any roads, electricity, and of course they interact very 153 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: sparingly with the outside world. But a group of researchers 154 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: visited the tribe a few years back, and they found 155 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: that these tribes people all made the same spontaneous gestures 156 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 1: when speaking about time. Like, the researchers started filming, ing 157 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: and analyzing these gestures, and what they found was that 158 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: the Yepno people all justtured downward towards the mouth of 159 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: the local river whenever they spoke about the past, and 160 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: whenever they spoke about the future, they actually gestured uphill 161 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: to the river's source. I love stuff like that. I mean, 162 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: we always think of time as being linear, you know, 163 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: like the past is behind you and the future always 164 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: lies ahead. I guess, yeah, But for the Yepno, it 165 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: sounds like the past is at the bottom and the 166 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: futures at the top. So basically time flows uphill in 167 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: their minds from then in a straight line. I'm trying 168 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,559 Speaker 1: to think about what the logic would be behind that, though. 169 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: Do you do you know why that is? Apparently the 170 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: researchers didn't find out for certain, but their best guess 171 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,680 Speaker 1: is that the Yepnos procession at the time comes from 172 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: like the knowledge of their own history, and I guess 173 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,959 Speaker 1: their ancestors came to the region by sea and then 174 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: climbed up the steep mountain valley to where they established 175 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: the village. So it's possibly that the Yepno connects sort 176 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: of that geography and the low lands with the past, 177 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: and think of time is something that travels upward, just 178 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: like they did. H I just think that's beautiful to 179 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: think about and just how different that is because we're 180 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: also used to thinking of time is something we have 181 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: no sway over, and I guess it's kind of nice 182 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: to be reminded that so many things about it actually 183 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: are shaped by our own perspectives. Yeah, that's true. Like 184 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: even once we started using clocks, everyone just set them 185 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: to noon based on when the sun was the highest 186 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: in the sky where they lived, so like one community's 187 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: time would be several minutes off from the time in 188 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: a town just a hundred miles away or so, and 189 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: you know, having a ton of different local times like 190 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: that wasn't that much of a problem at first. You know, 191 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: this was still a time before a rapid communication, rapid transportation, 192 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: you know, so it didn't really matter that different communities 193 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,319 Speaker 1: kept different times. But as human beings began to explore 194 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: and you know, developed new ways to travel, this global 195 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: economy started to form. Suddenly the world found itself needing 196 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: a way to really measure and communicate time with one another. 197 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: And that's really how we wound up with things like 198 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: time zones or Greenwich meantime. All right, so let's talk 199 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: a little bit more about that history. I mean, the 200 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: pivotal moment that you're talking about really started during what 201 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: we would call the Age of Exploration and ran right 202 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: through the Industrial Revolution. For example, here in the US 203 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: that you know, time took a major leap towards standardization 204 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: in the late eighteen hundreds. And when you look at 205 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: why that was, I mean, this was largely due to 206 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: that long distance travel that was finally possible because of 207 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: the rise of railroads, definitely, and the invention of trains 208 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: really changed the way we look at time in all 209 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: sorts of ways. For instance, even though people had tried 210 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: to predict the future for thousands of years, we didn't 211 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: think about the possibility of traveling to the future until 212 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: after the train came along. And once we had a 213 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: machine that could zip across these vast distances, these authors 214 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: like H. G. Wells began to dream machines that could 215 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: travel time as if it were a rail line itself. 216 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: I mean, it's an interesting connection. But yeah, of course, 217 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: railroads also forced people to think practically about time, not 218 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: just creatively. And you think about trying to coordinate train 219 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,320 Speaker 1: schedules across all these different local time I mean, that 220 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: had to have been just this huge headache. And you know, 221 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: so it was November of eighty three that the American 222 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: railroads adopted a standard time system, and it was based 223 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: on the four time zones that we're familiar with today. 224 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: Here there's Eastern, Central Mountain, and Pacific and so the 225 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: clocks within each time zone were to be synchronized. And 226 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: then as a result of that, the railroads only had 227 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: to keep track of these four local times instead of 228 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: the dozens that they were having to keep track of before. 229 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: And that was obviously this big improvement all around, Like, 230 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: you know, apparently a lot of people didn't see it 231 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: that way at first. But I was reading this article 232 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: in Smithsonian, and there were a bunch of cities that 233 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 1: insisted on keeping their own local time zones for everything 234 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: except train schedules, and others refused to switch over that too. 235 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: You know. Um it was mostly because these cities bristled 236 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: at the idea of railroads kind of up ending their 237 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: established way of doing things, like they just didn't want 238 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,959 Speaker 1: to change. Like, there was this one editorial in a 239 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: Cincinnati newspaper where the author actually proclaimed, quote, let the 240 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: people of Cincinnati stick to the truth as it is 241 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: written by the sun, moon and stars. I mean, that 242 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: is what they do best in Cincinnati. Everybody knows that. 243 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: But I mean, you're right. Though, there was a staunch 244 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: opposition to this change over for years after the time 245 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: zone system was introduced, and so much so that, in fact, 246 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: that the country didn't officially adopted until I think thirty 247 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: five years later, and that was with the Standard Time 248 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: Act of nineteen eighteen. Now, this also established daylight saving 249 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: time for better or worse. Yeah, that's right. But America 250 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: did take another important step towards standard time and years between. 251 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: And in fact, just one year after the railroads introduced 252 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: US time zones, delegates from twenty five other countries gathered 253 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. For what was called the UM 254 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: the International Meridian Conference. And during this conference, the delegates 255 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: voted to recognize the Greenwich Meridian in London as this 256 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: common point from which nations would measure time and longitude. 257 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: And so how did they decide on Greenwich Meridian? And 258 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: and I mean you can draw meridians at all different 259 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: points on the globe, of course, So what what made 260 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: this the clear choice? Well, for one thing, a lot 261 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: of countries have been using the Greenwich meridian as the 262 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: prime meridian for decades by the time the conference was held. 263 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: So in England the line had been established as zero 264 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: degrees longitude in eighteen fifty one, and this fixed line 265 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: allowed merchant ships and explorers to keep better track of 266 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: their east west position while at sea. Like they could 267 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: use the position to the sun and stars to get 268 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: an idea of the time on board the ship and 269 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: then compare that to the local time at the prime 270 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 1: meridian to determine their approximate location. So British sailors started 271 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: traveling with chronometers set to Greenwich time, and soon the 272 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: practice spread to countries all over the world. But even 273 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: though this practice was legitimized at the four Conference, there 274 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: were still some holdouts, you know, just like there were 275 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: when railroads tried to introduce time zones. France in particular 276 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: didn't like the idea of using British time and longitude 277 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: as the world's standard. Instead, they were pushing for Paris 278 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: to be the side of the prime meridian. Of course, 279 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: you know, no one else was really interested in this, 280 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: and the Greenish meridian had already sort of like proven effective, 281 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: so del Gets figured why start over? So how did 282 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: France take that? Did they take the loss sense tried 283 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: or do they pull a Cincinnati and throw a fit? Oh, 284 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: they definitely throw a fit. I mean the French delegates 285 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: if stained from voting at the conference. Uh. They even 286 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: decided to adopt Paris meantime as their national time, but 287 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: eventually they had to switch to Grennish mean time, you know, 288 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: like a few decades later. But even then some people 289 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: in France would refer to g M T as quote, 290 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: the meantime of Paris retarded nine minutes and twenty one seconds. 291 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess that's why we've always said that 292 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: France is really like the Cincinnati of Nations. Yeah, old, 293 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: all right, Well, since you brought up g M T, 294 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: we should probably talk a little bit about what that 295 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: is and how exactly it's determined. Sure, but before we 296 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: get into all that, let's take a quick break. You're 297 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: listening to part Time Genius, and we're talking about mankind's 298 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: many varied attempts to keep time. All right, Mango, So 299 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: we talked a lot about the worldwide impact of the 300 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich mean time. But I'm not done 301 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: with this topic just yet because I'm still a little 302 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: hazy on the specific. So do you have a sense 303 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: of what we're actually referring to when we use these terms. Yeah, 304 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: So we always think of the Prime Meridian as an 305 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: imaginary line running around the world, just like we do 306 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: with the Equator, and it definitely is that, But the 307 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: Grenich Meridian is also a physical line. Like there's this 308 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: bronze strip that runs through a courtyard at the Royal 309 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: Observatory in UH in London, and it represents the boundary 310 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. UH so if you 311 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: were to stand with one foot on either side of 312 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: the line, you technically be in two different hymns fears 313 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: at the same time, I mean kind of these days. 314 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: The prime meridian is determined by this complex statistical solution. 315 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: It involves, I think, algorithms and the coordination with the 316 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: International Bureau of Weights and Measurements. It's it's way too 317 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: complicated again into hear, but the basic result is that 318 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: the physical line in the observatory courtyard is actually about 319 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: ten feet off from where the imaginary line is that 320 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: we might go by. Okay, so I see, So I 321 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: get that g MT is based on the local time 322 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: at that position of the prime meridian in Greenwich. So 323 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: that explains the G and the T. But what about 324 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: the M. How do means fit into this whole thing? Yeah, 325 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: the mean is just the average that's used when determining 326 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: the accurate time in Greenwich. So the Earth obviously rotates 327 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: at an uneven speed and the average just helps account 328 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: for that. Okay, well, that actually clears up a good bit. 329 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: There is one story that I want to tell here 330 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: while we're on this subject of GMT, because there's the 331 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: belvil that the are you familiar with the Belville family. 332 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: I do know about them. Yeah yeah, So just for 333 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,440 Speaker 1: our listeners, as the family that made a living by 334 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: literally selling time to their neighbors. So, just in case 335 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,360 Speaker 1: you haven't heard this story, it starts with an astronomer 336 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: and a meteorologist. His name was John Delvill and so 337 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 1: he began working as an assistant at the Royal Observatory 338 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: and Greenwich back in the eighteen thirties. Now, during this time, 339 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: he would always set his pocket watch to the observatories clock. 340 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 1: And if you think about it, that was a pretty 341 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 1: awesome job perk because this was the eighteen thirties, so 342 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: it was tough to get the right time if you 343 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,959 Speaker 1: didn't live really close to the observatory and there were 344 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: no radios, no telephones or even telegraphs to communicate that 345 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: time to other parts of London. So unless you had 346 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 1: access to the observatory, much like John did, you were 347 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,160 Speaker 1: pretty much out of luck and your clocks were likely 348 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: to be off by you know, at least a few minutes. 349 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: And so John looks at this problem and he sees 350 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 1: this money making opportunity and he starts selling the time 351 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: to a network of subscribers all over the city. Now, 352 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: each week he would get his pocket watch certified at 353 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 1: the observatory, and then he would set off to visit 354 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,920 Speaker 1: London's clockmakers and shipping companies and even just some ordinary 355 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: citizens who really wanted to know what time it was exactly. 356 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: And so these customers they would pay an annual fee 357 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,239 Speaker 1: for this service, and John would provide this thing for 358 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: like twenty more years until he passed away. It's unbelievable 359 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: that that he thought to make subscriptions for this thing 360 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: is just incredible. But you know what I love about 361 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,159 Speaker 1: the story is how easily it could have ended just 362 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: there right like, Uh, by the time John died, time 363 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: signals were being set by telegraph to anyone who owned one, 364 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: so you know, his weekly visits weren't really necessary anymore. 365 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: But after twenty years of trusting John's pocket watch, many 366 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: of his subscribers couldn't stomach the thought of setting their 367 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: clocks to an untested piece of technology like the telegraph. 368 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,200 Speaker 1: It's almost like in Japan when they put out calculators. Uh, 369 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: people need to have abicus is attached to them so 370 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: that they would double check the work of the calculators. 371 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: But so anyway, they were all these people who were 372 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: desperate to maintain this service they knew and loved, and 373 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: and these loyal customers kept asking John's much younger widow, Maria, 374 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,399 Speaker 1: to carry on the family business. And so she did 375 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: for thirty six years when Maria carried her husband's watch 376 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: all over London. But then when she retired in her 377 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: subscribers still weren't ready to give up the service, so 378 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 1: they started petitioning for Belleville's daughter Ruth to take up 379 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: this uh business of London's timekeeper. And then she did too. Wow. 380 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: I mean, you think the story might end there, but 381 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 1: it keeps going. And so even after making these weekly 382 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 1: rounds for an additional forty eight years, Ruth only stopped 383 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty because World War Two had made it 384 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,919 Speaker 1: too dangerous to walk the streets. I mean, if you 385 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: think about it, she was eighty six years old. Radios 386 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: had been broadcasting the time for decades at this point, 387 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: but the family business was somehow still lucrative enough for 388 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 1: her to keep up with it for her entire adult life. Yeah, 389 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's pretty amazing that this family turned 390 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: like this niche service into basically a dynasty, right Like 391 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: it's a multi generational and family business. And it's also 392 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: amazing to me that like the Royal Observatory was just 393 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: down with this arrangement, like they could have shut it 394 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: down at any point, but they just never did. M Well, 395 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,440 Speaker 1: as long as we're doling out credit here, I think 396 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 1: we should probably pause for a minute to give a 397 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: shout out to Belville's pocket watch, which actually even had 398 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: a nickname. It was Arnold, and it was named after 399 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: the person who made it, and all three Belvils relied 400 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: on this same eighteenth century pocket watch when they were 401 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: making their rounds, and it was a state of the 402 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,360 Speaker 1: art watch when John Delville purchased it nearly a hundred 403 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 1: years before Ruth's retirement, and after all those intervening decades, 404 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,120 Speaker 1: it continued to provide time accurate to within I think 405 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: a tenth of a second. So it's remarkable when you 406 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,880 Speaker 1: consider how old this watch was. So as a reward 407 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: for such faithful service, Arnold is now enshrine at the 408 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 1: Clockmaker's Museum in London and it's still display there today. 409 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: So nice work, Arnold. It is amazing that, like when 410 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: you give something a name, it just becomes so much 411 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,679 Speaker 1: more charming, like if you called your toaster Oliver, suddenly 412 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: is a much more toaster. But you know, what's interesting 413 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: about pocket watches like Arnold is that they actually represent 414 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: a tipping point in the history of timekeeping. Yeah, I 415 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: mean it's a big deal, but but what do you 416 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: mean exactly? So obviously humans had tried and failed to 417 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: keep accurate time for a long time by this point, 418 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: you know, before we had these mechanical clocks run by 419 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 1: gears and springs, and early civilizations like Egypt or China 420 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: they developed sundials to track the passage of time. These 421 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 1: other civilizations created water clocks as to work around, so 422 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: rather than relying on the stars and the sun, you know, 423 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,199 Speaker 1: they used water to steadily drip into a container that 424 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: had these painted lines around the side to mark different 425 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: points in the day. And of course this method had 426 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: its problems too, you know, water freezes and that could 427 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,160 Speaker 1: effectively stop the process. But many of these inconsistencies all 428 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: fell by the wayside with the introduction of these mechanical clocks. 429 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,399 Speaker 1: This system just provide a way more reliable way of 430 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: keeping time, and one that wasn't influenced by changes in 431 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: temperature or lack of light and its mechanical clocks became 432 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: more and more common and more portable. The active time 433 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:20,359 Speaker 1: keeping almost became more entwined with daily life than ever before. Okay, 434 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 1: I mean I think I see what you're saying. So 435 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: pocket watches were kind of the breakthrough that allowed the 436 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: average citizen to start keeping track of time in this 437 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: really specific way. I mean, yeah, the old way of 438 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: doing things where most people were just having to keep 439 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,120 Speaker 1: up with morning, noon, and nine. I mean, people could 440 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 1: now easily gauge, you know, not only the individual hour, 441 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: but down to the minute of the day exactly. Smithsonian 442 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 1: has this really great article on the history of early timekeeping, 443 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: and there's one part I want to read. It's a 444 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 1: nice breakdown of the pocket watches impact. It goes like 445 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: this quote. Affordable pocket watches weren't common until the nineteenth century, 446 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: but once they arrived, they quickly invaded the world of commerce. 447 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: When you could time your actions with those of a 448 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: remote trading partner, new styles of just in time commerce 449 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,680 Speaker 1: could merge. Pocket watch wielding conductors meant trains could begin 450 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: to keep regular schedules. Scientists and astronomers could conduct more 451 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,479 Speaker 1: precise experiments. Portable watches even made it easier for lovers 452 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: to conduct illicit affairs by arranging to meet at a 453 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 1: pre ordained spot in time. But having a watch wasn't 454 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: just about keeping to the clock. It was a cultural marker, 455 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 1: a performance of punctuality. Every time you pulled out your 456 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: watch conspicuously and in public, you signal to others that 457 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: you were reliable. I mean that's interesting because you never 458 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,119 Speaker 1: really think about how much of a game change or 459 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: portability was for time pieces. But I mean it makes 460 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: sense that it would be. But you know, it's also 461 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 1: easy to imagine how the pocket watch was kind of 462 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: this springboard to the wrist watch. I mean, pulling one 463 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: of those out of your pocket is easy when you're 464 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: standing still, but it's a different story when you're doing 465 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: something active, like if you're jogging or riding in a 466 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: car or whatever it might be. Yeah, it's obviously much 467 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: easier to take a quick and set your wrist. I mean. 468 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: The problem was that when the first first watches started 469 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: showing up in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they were 470 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: marketed almost exclusively to women. They had leather bands or 471 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 1: metallic bands, they were small, they had these delicate watch faces, 472 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 1: and they were primarily worn as jewelries, so men tended 473 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 1: to shy away from them, and watchmakers came to view 474 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: the idea of strapping a watch gear wrist is pretty silly. 475 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: In fact, there was this one German watchmaker who referred 476 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 1: to the custom as quote the idiotic fashion of carrying 477 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: one's clock on the most restless part of the body, 478 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 1: exposed to the most extreme temperature variations. One hopes it 479 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: will soon disappear. I love reading or hearing quotes about 480 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: something like this that are just seems so harmless, and 481 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: people speak so passionately. I think I've heard anybody speak 482 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: so passionately against wrist watches. But obviously this guy didn't 483 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 1: get his way. So what changed, Well, the turning point 484 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: really came during World War One. Officers started using them 485 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: because it was easier to core NAT attacks with a 486 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: watch on your wrist and it was to like fumble 487 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: in your pockets. So as the war went on, watchmakers 488 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 1: started rolling out new models with soldiers in mind. They 489 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: had these larger faces, these more prominent numbers to improve legibility, 490 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: and in the end, this manlier take on the wrist 491 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: watch was this huge hit with soldiers millions of whom 492 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: continued wearing them once the war was over, and sales 493 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: figures actually reflect the sea change. Like in a wristwatches 494 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: only account for fifteen percent of all watches made in America, 495 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: but by five the number had risen to eight percent 496 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: of American watches. So clearly all this rebranding paid off. Wow, 497 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,959 Speaker 1: and only what fifteen years that that is amazing. Well, 498 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: you know, since we're on the subject of wrist watches 499 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: as status symbols and how wars can kind of help 500 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 1: broaden the market for them, I do feel like we 501 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: have to talk about maybe the most famous luxury watch 502 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 1: of them all, and that is, of course, the Rolex. Yeah, 503 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: that's another great wartime story. But before we get to it, 504 00:25:55,840 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: let's take another quick break. All right, Well, so what's 505 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: the scoop on Rolex and how exactly did it become 506 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,120 Speaker 1: a luxury brand. Well, like you explained, the First World 507 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: War really established the wristwatches new role in combat and 508 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: that's something that carried over into the Second World War 509 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,400 Speaker 1: as well. And the Rolex brand was this especially popular 510 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: choice among British pilots who really considered the Swiss timepieces 511 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: to be the most accurate ones in the world. So 512 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: long before they became status symbols here in the States, 513 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,959 Speaker 1: Rolexes were already treasured abroad for their utility really, and 514 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: you know the only problem was that whenever these British 515 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: pilots were shot down and taken prisoner, their German captors 516 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: always confiscated their watches. So word of this gets to 517 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: the co founder of Rolex and he decides to take 518 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: action on the troop's behalf. So the deal was that 519 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 1: any British elett who lost their Rolex in the line 520 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: of duty could simply send him a letter explaining the situation, 521 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,919 Speaker 1: and the company would then send out a replacement watch, 522 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,719 Speaker 1: along with a note telling the soldier not to quote 523 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,119 Speaker 1: even think of settlement during the war. So that's a 524 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: really nice gesture. And I guess they were kind of like, 525 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: I use, when they came back to town they could 526 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: get these watches, but realistically, like, how many POWs we're 527 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: going to be allowed to send away for watches from 528 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 1: these camps. Well, here's what surprising about this whole thing 529 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: is that they were actually thousands of soldiers who responded 530 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: to Rolex's offer. And as for getting the watches behind, 531 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 1: enemy lines. Apparently there were some German camps that gave 532 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,359 Speaker 1: special privileges to British airmen, including the chance to order 533 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,439 Speaker 1: and keep these watches. So, as you might imagine, this 534 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: proved to be a bad idea for Germany in a 535 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,240 Speaker 1: few different ways. I mean, so for one thing, the 536 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: Rolex program boosted the captured soldiers morale, and after all, 537 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: the guy who had extended the offer to them, Hans Willsdorf, 538 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: was himself a German born expatriot. Now, by allowing soldiers 539 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,199 Speaker 1: to take on these io used that you mentioned, he 540 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: was basically saying, hey, I believe the Allies are gonna 541 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: win this thing, so go ahead and pay me when 542 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: this is all over. That's pretty fascinating and I really 543 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: do love it. You know, it never occurred to me 544 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: that the arrangement could be taken, you know, as this 545 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: vote of confidence, which is really cool. But you said 546 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: the program also led to other problems for the Germans. Well, 547 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: that's definitely true. I mean, some of these replacement Rolex 548 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,160 Speaker 1: has played pretty critical roles in the British escape attempts. 549 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: I mean, for instance, you know the so called Great 550 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,880 Speaker 1: Escape of ninety four. Well, the men who helped dig 551 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: the tunnels, had to covertly disperse the excess soil and 552 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,240 Speaker 1: the prison yard, and so to help them with this, 553 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: some of them were using Rolex watches to time the 554 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: movements of the guards. That's pretty awesome. But if the 555 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: Rolex program was only open to British soldiers, like, how 556 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 1: did it become such a hot brand in the US? Well, 557 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: that was actually another unexpected benefit from the Rolex war campaign. 558 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: So when American servicemen were overseas, they heard their British 559 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: allies go on and on about how these Rolexes were 560 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: so reliable and how the company had made this amazing 561 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: replacement service for them. And so once the war was over, 562 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,960 Speaker 1: many Americans had this newfound appreciation for these watches. And 563 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: while Rolex had never found much success in the States 564 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: prior to the war, after the war the brand became 565 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: this go to choice for Americans who wanted what they 566 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: saw as a classy wrist watch. Well, speaking of classy 567 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: wrist watches, did you know that the world's first calculator 568 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: watch was sold exclusively through these high end retailers like 569 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: Tiffany and uh Neiman Marcus. That's pretty funny to imagine yeah, 570 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: I mean it sounds ridiculous because we mostly think of 571 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 1: like calculator watches as almost like tacky plastic slabs that 572 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: nerds used to wear in the eighties. But before companies 573 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: like Cassio and Saco took the design mainstream in late 574 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: seventies and early eighties, calculator watches were almost more of 575 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 1: a luxury item. So I guess if you took the 576 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 1: timing of that, it does make sense like we were 577 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,719 Speaker 1: still a decade or two away from computers being common 578 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: fixtures in the home. So this idea of having like 579 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: a mini computer, although it's you know, incredibly basic one 580 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: strapped to your risk, probably did seem like a little 581 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: bit of a luxury. But I mean the real question 582 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: is how much were they charging for these things if 583 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: they were being sold at Tiffany of all places. Yeah, 584 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: so I was curious about this too, And it turns 585 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: out when the first calculator watches were released in nine 586 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 1: they were cast in solid gold and they retailed for 587 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: about four thousand dollars, and for reference, at the time, 588 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 1: a year of tuition at Harvard cost about two hundred 589 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: bucks less than that. So depending on how much do 590 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: you had, you could either attend an Ivy League school, 591 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: or you could wear a tiny computer on your wrist. 592 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: That's a tough choice. I'm not sure which I decide 593 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: on that. Actually I was curious, so I've been using 594 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: my own calculator watch while you're saying, or just my 595 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: computer to check the inflation on that number. So if 596 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: you do the math in today's any that golden calculator 597 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: watch would cost you nearly eighteen thousand dollars. So I 598 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: don't know, Mago. I don't want to hurl any accusations, 599 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 1: but I think they might have been overcharging just a 600 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: little bit for those things. Yeah, I think a lot 601 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: of folks agreed with you even back then, And it 602 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: took a year or so for the same company to 603 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,120 Speaker 1: come out with what they build as an economy version 604 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 1: of the calculator watch. These were made of steel instead 605 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: of gold, and the result was that they only cost 606 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: about fifty dollars or you know, right around two dollars 607 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: after inflation and from their competitors drove the price even lower, 608 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: with these cheaper models costing under twenty bucks by the 609 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,640 Speaker 1: early eighties. I like how it's either fifty dollars or 610 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: four thousand dollars. It seems like a little bit of 611 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 1: a jump there. But all right, Well, before we wrap 612 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: things up for this episode, we did promise at the 613 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: outset that we'd circle back to the infamous moon Watch, 614 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: and I can tell from the white Tristan keeps flashing 615 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,400 Speaker 1: his wrist that he's gonna hold us to that promise. Well, 616 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: lucky for us, there's a story that we both wanted 617 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: to tell anyway, because and off, a lot of attention 618 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: gets paid to Neil Armstrong, and you know, as the 619 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: first man on the Moon, that's certainly warranted. But the 620 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,480 Speaker 1: downside of that focus is that the other lunar pioneers 621 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: tend to get overlooked, including, among others, the Mega speed 622 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,760 Speaker 1: Master a k. The first Watch on the Moon, which 623 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,520 Speaker 1: is just a grave and justice the time pieces everywhere, 624 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: no question. But wouldn't this just take us back to Armstrong. 625 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: I mean, he was wearing a speed Master on the 626 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,479 Speaker 1: Apollo eleven missions, so wasn't his the first watch on 627 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: the Moon? Well that's the thing. The electronic timer and 628 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:33,600 Speaker 1: the lunar module had malfunctioned during the mission, so Armstrong 629 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: actually had to leave his watch behind before ever setting 630 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: foot on the Moon. So that actually means that while 631 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: buzz Aldren ultimately became the second man on the Moon, 632 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: it was his speed Master that became the first watch 633 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: on the Moon. You know, I bet that continues to 634 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: be like this big consolation for Buzz to be able 635 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: to brag about that. But all right, well, now we 636 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: know why it's called the moon Watch. Let let's back 637 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 1: up from it and talk about why the speed Master 638 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: was the right watch for the job. And just be clear, 639 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 1: several watches made it into space before the Speedmaster. Both 640 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: Russians and Americans had used watches in orbit will before 641 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: the Apollo missions, but in order to survive an actual spacewalk, 642 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 1: NASA knew that the average wristwatch wasn't going to cut it. 643 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 1: And that was because whichever watch made it onto the 644 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,640 Speaker 1: Moon but not only need to be water and temperature resistant, 645 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:25,960 Speaker 1: but shockproof and most importantly, capable of withstanding twelve g 646 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,719 Speaker 1: s of acceleration. So to that in an engineer at 647 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:33,080 Speaker 1: NASA named James Reagan. He was tasked with writing out 648 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: the specs for such a watch and sending them to 649 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: potential manufacturers. According to Reagan, the secrecy and the complexity 650 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 1: of the lunar landing made the specs nearly impossible to decipher. So, 651 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,080 Speaker 1: as he put it, the watch packs were so nebulous 652 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:49,080 Speaker 1: that people couldn't even tell what we were going to 653 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: do with them. Yeah, I remember reading that even though 654 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 1: NASA approached like ten different companies, only for them ever 655 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: actually submitted watches to be evaluated, and those tests went 656 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,480 Speaker 1: on for months. I think, like one of the watches 657 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: was limited because it had this like crack crystal during decompression. 658 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: One had hands of the watch that actually worked in 659 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: the test of it. And in the end, the Mega 660 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:14,839 Speaker 1: Speedmaster was the only watch to meet all of those requirements, 661 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: and to this day it's still the only watch that's 662 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 1: ever been flight qualified by NASA. I mean, it's definitely 663 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:23,880 Speaker 1: an impressive track record, especially when you look at the 664 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 1: crucial role that the watch has played in later missions. 665 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,799 Speaker 1: For instance, everybody knows how trouble the Apollo thirteen mission was, 666 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,880 Speaker 1: but what a lot of people forget is that the 667 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: crew likely wouldn't have made it back to Earth if 668 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: not for their speed Masters. And you know, they had 669 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,560 Speaker 1: to shut down their computers just to be able to 670 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:44,000 Speaker 1: save power, and so the crew managed to navigate their 671 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:48,880 Speaker 1: way home using measurements gleaned from their handwound watches. Yeah, 672 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,240 Speaker 1: I mean, you'll sometimes hear the complaint that our increased 673 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 1: focus on timekeeping has made humans slaves to time. Like 674 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,759 Speaker 1: I feel like you hear this criticism a lot. It 675 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,120 Speaker 1: was a criticism that was leveled at pocket watch is 676 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 1: and risk watches back in the day, and now we 677 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:04,400 Speaker 1: hear the same thing about the ever present watches on 678 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: our smartphones or computer screens. But I do think it's 679 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: worth remembering that our session with marking and tracking time 680 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,200 Speaker 1: has also led to tons of positive outcomes. You know, 681 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:19,280 Speaker 1: it's saved astronauts from and otherwise uncertain doom, and uh, 682 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: it also lets us know when it's time to go 683 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: downstairs and get a big bowl of ramen. So you know, 684 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,600 Speaker 1: having a clock definitely has its benefits. Yeah, I mean, 685 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:28,920 Speaker 1: it's a that's a pretty important role that it plays. 686 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,279 Speaker 1: But all right, so what do you say we set 687 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 1: the clock for a fact off and then we can 688 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:34,919 Speaker 1: go scarf some of those noodles that you're talking about, 689 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 1: Because now I'm wondering, yes, please, So how about we 690 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,880 Speaker 1: start with the fact about the author of A Brief 691 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: History of Time? Do you know that at Stephen Hawkings 692 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: funeral it was made clear that time travelers were welcome, 693 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,960 Speaker 1: and this was somewhat of a nod to a party 694 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,440 Speaker 1: invitation Hawking at once sent out into as a nine. 695 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,680 Speaker 1: It read quote, you are cordially invited to a reception 696 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:06,520 Speaker 1: for time travelers hosted by Professor Stephen Hawking, to be 697 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,759 Speaker 1: held in the past at the University of Cambridge Gonville 698 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 1: at Caius College. I'm sure I said those colleges wrong. 699 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,880 Speaker 1: Hawking had of course already thrown the party back in 700 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,360 Speaker 1: June of that year, and he sent out the invitation 701 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:23,840 Speaker 1: later to make sure that only time travelers would show up. Unfortunately, 702 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 1: he was left a party alone in a decorated room 703 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,280 Speaker 1: with a banner that read welcome time Travelers. That's a bomber. 704 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:32,920 Speaker 1: I think that probably would have changed history just a 705 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,319 Speaker 1: little bit of wow. All right, So did you know 706 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: that the times on the boards at Grand Central Station 707 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,799 Speaker 1: are intentionally off by a full minute? Now? This is, 708 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,200 Speaker 1: of course, because it can be dangerous when passengers are 709 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 1: rushing and end up falling or colliding with each other, 710 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: and this means that the trains are actually pulling out 711 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 1: of the station a minute after the posted departure times. 712 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,240 Speaker 1: This may seem trivial, but the ideas that those heading 713 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,839 Speaker 1: quickly to a train may relax just a little bit 714 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,800 Speaker 1: know that they're going to get there. And the studies 715 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: actually backed this up because Grand Central actually has one 716 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 1: of the lowest rates of slips and falls of all 717 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 1: the major stations in the US. I love that there's 718 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 1: a measurement of this, but that's pretty impressive. That's it is. 719 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: I think about that every time I go to Grand 720 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:18,360 Speaker 1: Central from now long. You know, I feel like we 721 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:20,680 Speaker 1: can't have an episode on time and not talk about 722 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: cuckoo clocks. So I'm here to tell you about the 723 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: world's largest cuckoo clock. It's in Triburg, Germany. The bird 724 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:32,200 Speaker 1: alone is fourteen feet long and weighs three pounds. The 725 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,240 Speaker 1: pendulum is another twenty six feet and ways two hundred 726 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,719 Speaker 1: twenty pounds. So this is not a petite clock. Right there, 727 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,360 Speaker 1: There's another clock that's trying to edge in for the 728 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,439 Speaker 1: claim to be the largest cuckoo clock in the world. 729 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 1: It's in Sugar Creek, Ohio. This clock is twenty three 730 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:49,600 Speaker 1: ft tall and twenty four ft wide, and Guinness has 731 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:51,879 Speaker 1: yet to declare one of them winners. So I think 732 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,960 Speaker 1: we should just celebrate the fact that there are two 733 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:58,120 Speaker 1: unbelievably large cuckoo clocks out there. That definitely seems worth celebrating. 734 00:37:58,160 --> 00:37:59,920 Speaker 1: That is funny. I like the idea that Guinness is 735 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:02,720 Speaker 1: is like ignoring to wait on some even bigger clock. 736 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 1: They're just not going to pay attention yet. Well, when 737 00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:08,319 Speaker 1: you look at the working hours of the richest Americans 738 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,640 Speaker 1: today versus a few decades back, it's interesting to see 739 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,000 Speaker 1: that the wealthier working much longer now than they used to. 740 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: And that makes the findings from a study out of 741 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,960 Speaker 1: the Anderson School of Management this is a u c 742 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: l A that much more interesting because in a study 743 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 1: of four thousand people, or a survey of four thousand 744 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 1: people at various age, employment, and income levels, when people 745 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,680 Speaker 1: were asked whether they would take more money or more 746 00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: time if they could get it, about two thirds of 747 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:39,640 Speaker 1: the people chose money. But the study found that those 748 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:43,480 Speaker 1: who chose time over money were generally happier people, and 749 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,680 Speaker 1: this was after controlling for various income level. So it 750 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 1: is pretty interesting to see that. Huh, so I forgot 751 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 1: to mention as Stephen Hawking factorlier did you know that 752 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 1: A Brief History of Time was on the London Sunday 753 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,439 Speaker 1: Times bestseller list for an unbelievable two hundred thirty seven 754 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:02,680 Speaker 1: weeks after it published. And this which is so many 755 00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 1: weeks of people pretending to understand what they were ready, 756 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 1: that is years. That really is unbelievable. I will say 757 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:11,920 Speaker 1: I have to admit every time I would see somebody 758 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: holding that book, even though it is a fascinating read, 759 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:16,799 Speaker 1: you you do have this tendency to look at and 760 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 1: be like, do you really understand what this book is saying? 761 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,600 Speaker 1: Because I'm not sure I did. But all right, well 762 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:23,759 Speaker 1: I've got a quick one too. I decided we should 763 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,320 Speaker 1: throw in effect about Cindy Lauper because of her song 764 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,560 Speaker 1: Time after Time. And I didn't realize this, but her 765 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: debut solo album, which was called She's So Unusual, came 766 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,960 Speaker 1: out three and it was the first debut female album 767 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,120 Speaker 1: to have four songs hit the top five on the charts, 768 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:43,399 Speaker 1: which is unbelievable. So it included Time after Time. And 769 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,719 Speaker 1: of course girls just want to have fun. You know what, 770 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:49,520 Speaker 1: I have a song fact as well. It's about the 771 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:51,839 Speaker 1: song time is on my side? You mean like that's 772 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,640 Speaker 1: the that's the Rolling Stones, right, Yeah, that's the one. 773 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:57,640 Speaker 1: So it was actually first written by Jerry Raggaboy and 774 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 1: performed by a jazz from bonist Kaiwinde, but then soul 775 00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:03,640 Speaker 1: singer Irma Thomas and of course the Rolling Stones made 776 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:05,680 Speaker 1: it a song almost everyone knew, and it became the 777 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,799 Speaker 1: Rolling stones first top ten hit in the US. You know, 778 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,400 Speaker 1: I feel like we we both ended up with facts 779 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:13,800 Speaker 1: that had to do with songs with the word time 780 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,440 Speaker 1: in them. So I've got a challenge for you here, mango, 781 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:18,400 Speaker 1: What do you say that we have a little bit 782 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:20,799 Speaker 1: of a back and forth where we have to name 783 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 1: songs with the word time and the title, and then 784 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,200 Speaker 1: you also have to give the name of the performer 785 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,080 Speaker 1: or performers. What do you say to this? Yeah, I'm 786 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:31,120 Speaker 1: up for this. All right, you go first, Let's see 787 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:34,919 Speaker 1: how far we can go. Uh if I could turn 788 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 1: back time with share? Oh I thought that you started 789 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:39,600 Speaker 1: out with the Share, when I'm gonna start out with 790 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,839 Speaker 1: one that's like equally respectable. Just the song Time of 791 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 1: course by Hootie and the Blowfish during our high school years. 792 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:52,759 Speaker 1: UM Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Nice you 793 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:56,400 Speaker 1: went a little more sophisticated there. Um for the Longest Time, 794 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 1: or maybe it's just called the Longest Time by Billy Joel? 795 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,800 Speaker 1: Did anyone really know what time it is? Chicago? Nice? 796 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:05,919 Speaker 1: Tomorrow is a Long Time by Bob Dylan, One More 797 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,920 Speaker 1: Time by Daft Punk Nice. All right, I've got a 798 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:11,920 Speaker 1: great one, maybe the best of all time. I've had 799 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:16,120 Speaker 1: the time of my life, you know from Dirty Dancing? Yeah? 800 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:20,560 Speaker 1: Who sings that? Wait? Oh no, there's so many other 801 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:23,240 Speaker 1: songs I could have chosen. Wait, wait, wait, I should 802 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,799 Speaker 1: get credit because nobody knows who's sang this? Right? Was 803 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:33,080 Speaker 1: it pet Crazy? Yeah? It's a Patrick Swayzy original. Yeah. Yeah, 804 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:36,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna look at up fair Bill Medley and Jennifer Warrens. 805 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,600 Speaker 1: Come on, nobody even knows that that? Why did I 806 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:42,960 Speaker 1: go with that? But you know what, I'm gonna play 807 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:45,600 Speaker 1: true to the game and I'm gonna give it to you. 808 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:49,960 Speaker 1: You you have one today, Congratulations, Thank you so much. Now, 809 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure we forgot a lot of terrific facts about 810 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,839 Speaker 1: watches and time and clocks and all of that, and 811 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:57,520 Speaker 1: we always love hearing those facts from you, so please 812 00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,879 Speaker 1: send those to us. Part time Genius at how stuff 813 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,080 Speaker 1: Works dot com. You can also hit us up on 814 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:10,240 Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter, but as always, thanks so much for listening. Yea, 815 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,520 Speaker 1: thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production 816 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:24,000 Speaker 1: of How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several 817 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,560 Speaker 1: brilliant people who do the important things we couldn't even 818 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,879 Speaker 1: begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does the editing thing. Noel 819 00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:31,960 Speaker 1: Brown made the theme song and does the MIXI mixy 820 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:35,520 Speaker 1: sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gay 821 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:37,719 Speaker 1: blues Yer is our lead researcher, with support from the 822 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,200 Speaker 1: Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams 823 00:42:41,239 --> 00:42:43,080 Speaker 1: and Eve Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. 824 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,120 Speaker 1: Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, we 825 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,279 Speaker 1: hope you'll subscribe, and if you really really like what 826 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:49,400 Speaker 1: you've heard, maybe you could leave a good review for us. 827 00:42:49,600 --> 00:43:02,080 Speaker 1: Do we forget Jason? Jason who