Why 60 and not 100 Seconds in a minute ??

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 Decimal and Sexagesimal

Sexagesimal numeral system is a number system with the base of 60 as Decimal system has the base of 10. This sexagesimal system originated in ancient Sumerian civilisation in 3rd millennium BC, was further passed down to the ancient Babylonians.

An hour consists of 60 minutes and a minute consists of 60 seconds but down further units we use a hundredth, millionth, and trillionth of a second i.e. we divide seconds further down by factor of ten i.e. the decimal system

The Babylonians used this system for segmentation of time throughout the day and later it spread throughout the world.

Many conversions in many units take place with the base 10 as given in the conversion chart below.


Why 60 seconds/minutes?

There are many possible reasons for the Sumerians, Babylonians and later civilizations to use the sexagesimal system for segmentation of time and measuring angles

One of the reasons is that 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 i.e. an hour can be explained in half an hour, third of an hour, quarter of an hour, and 10 minutes. If an hour had 100 minutes time would become more difficult to split as it has less factors as compared to 60.

Another reason is that by using our thumb to point to three finger bones on each finger one by one we can count till 12 with the help of single hand and by using all fingers and thumb of the other hand as counter we can count till 60.

Some other facts about Sumerian and Babylonians:

1.      Sumerian and Babylonian were Mesopotemian (meaning between rivers) civilizations.   Mesopotamia was situated between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. During the second and first millennia, the south of Mesopotamia was known as Babylonia and north part was known as Assyria. Babylonia's upper half was known as Akkad and lower half was known as Sumer during the third millennium BC. That area is now known as Iraq and eastern Syria.

2. The concept of counting originated in the ancient Sumerian civilization and was further passed down to the Babylonians . 

3.Cuneiform script (shown here) originated in the ancient Sumerian civilization around 3200 BC was developed to write the Sumerian language. Later used for other ancient languages.

4. The cuneiform with its numbers was initially used for keeping stock of agricultural produce and subsequent taxation

5.  The Mesopotamian year started in our spring i.e. about March or April and their month started after first sighting of new moon and would last for 29-30 days.

6. Lastly, the Mesopotamians created a sign to indicate day, by adding numbers alongside the sign they could count multiple days. The signs shape was based on the image of the sun rising in the east.


Credits and References :

Written by : Avishkar Kale (Team Factual Friday)
Image credit : https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1-140908162219-phpapp01/95/measurements-23-638.jpg?cb=1410193454

NOTE :-  This blog is meant for Educational Purpose only .We do not own any Copyrights related to images and information , all the rights goes to their  respective owners . The soul purpose of this blog is to Educate, Inspire, Empower and to create awareness in the viewers. The usage is non-commercial(Not For Profit) and we do not make any money from it.  


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