Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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I hear phrases like "half-past", "quarter til", and "quarter after" way less often since digital clocks have became more commonplace. (midwest.social)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/showerthoughts

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[–] Epilepsiavieroitus 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But 14:00 is what the time is and what the clock shows, not 1400. So I would say 14 o'clock if not 2 o'clock. Would you say "it's nine hundred in the morning" too? Again, it's hours not hundreds. I'm sorry but I don't understand why you're talking about years.

For context my country uses 24h time and I grew up with it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It is objectively wrong to say 14 o'clock, because "o'clock" refers to the orientation of an analogue clock.

Saying "it's nine in the morning" is redundant in a 24 hour system, because nine would never be anything other than that.

To say 'it's nine hundred" reduces the ambiguity slightly (because you can't really say o'clock).

If you simply say "it's nine" then other people might ask "what's nine?"

Is it "nine past nine"? Or are you telling me "no" in German?

Nine hundred is pretty clear, but not to our primitive ears