Tick Tock Day

Here are some interesting trivia and factoids about time:

• Over 5,000 years ago ancient cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt were the first to use sundials to tell time. According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, time and motion are relative to each other. It leaves open the possibility that time travel is possible. 
• Horology is the science of timekeeping.
• Before clocks were invented, people kept time with an hourglass. Hourglasses use sand or water to mark the passing of time. It is believed that a French monk named  Luitprand invented the hourglass in the 8th century.
• A Fortnight is an old English word. It means 14 nights. And therefore, it is 14 days as well.
• A “light year” is not a unit of time. It is a measure of distance.
• A Jiffy is a measure of time. And, someone has actually defined it. A “Jiffy” is defined as the amount of time light takes to travel one centimeter. And, that’s a very small fraction of a second. It is about 33.3564 picoseconds.  
• Johnny Carson created the term “In a New York Minute”. He defined it as how long it takes after a New York City traffic light turns green, for the second car in line to begin honking at the first car to move…. not long.
• February 30 was once a calendar date.
• According to the Guinness World Book of Records, the oldest working clock dates to 1386 (or earlier). It is located at the Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, UK. So far, it has ticked over 500 million times.
• All of us are living in the past. It takes the brain about 80 milliseconds to perceive what the eye sees.
• The French, Italian, and Spanish word for “Tick Tock” is “Tic Tac”.