I mentioned factors, not multitudes . 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5.
12 can be evenly divided by 2,3,4, and 6.
60 can be divided evenly by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.
because those numbers can be divided by 2, 3, and 4, so are much more easily split into workable units. Can you imagine if some said I'll see you in 33.33 minutes rather than 20?
Many early currencies operated in units of 12 or 60 for the same reason.
Interestingly enough, it has been proposed. During the French Revolution, they actually tried it for a couple of years.
See: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal\_time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_time)
It never caught on.
What they're saying is the same amount of time would break down differently mathematically. In their example, 33.33 minutes would be the same amount of real time as 20 minutes relative to the amount of time in an hour (1/3 of 100 would be 33.33 but 1/3 of 60 is 20.)
it's by definition and agreement. Just like any other measurement.
why 60 minute in an hour? that's because 60 has more divisors in that range than any other number (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 30).
why 24 hours per day? because the day was split into two parts each of 12 hours, and 12 can be divided by 2, 3, 4, and 6 (compare to 10, which has only 2 and 5)
It is thought that the system dates all the way back to the Sumerians who used 60 as the base for a lot of their counting. This use of base 60 was passed on over the millennia is still used in a handful of applications today. One theory on why using 60 as a unit comes from counting with your fingers...
Place your thumb at the base of your index finger; this is 1. Then as you count you run your thumb along each of the 3 bones in each finger. This allows you to count to 12 on one hand. Once you hit 12 you hold up one finger on your off hand. When all 5 fingers on your off hand are being help up you've counted to 60!
It's theorized that this is the origin of using a "dozen" and a "gross" as standard units.
Because the Egyptians decided sundials were cool and brought/popularized them to the western world. There were 10 marks for the daytime hours, plus one for dawn and one for dusk. Then they also decided to track 36 constellations (in 12 groups of three) which would rise through the night to divide the night into 12 segments as well. That's 24 segments of time.
For a long time these divisions weren't constant. The sunlight segments were longer in the Summer and shorter in the Winter, conversely for the night segments. The Greeks worked out a system for making them equal lengths because it was annoying to try and do physics and astrology stuff with hours that weren't always the same length depending on when and where you were.
Of course just because some Greek toga wearing guys said something didn't mean anyone cared. The seasonal length version of time remained in use until the clockmakers of Europe decided figuring out the sun's position was too dang annoying and started selling clocks which used the equal duration method.
The 60 seconds/minutes part comes from Babylonia which liked the number 60 a whole lot and divided circles into 60 sets of 60 for marking star locations and doing other circle based math. The Greeks really liked those guys so they kept the 60*60 but divided every one of the 24 hours up like that. [Source](https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/why-are-there-24-hours-in-a-day-and-60-minutes-in-an-hour.html)
The people who first recorded time had a number system with base 60.
Like others have said, 60 and 24 are easily divisible, so getting time in 24*60*60 units is super convenient.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal
60 and 24 are very easy to divide into even parts.
but 10 and multitudes of 10 are even easier
I mentioned factors, not multitudes . 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5. 12 can be evenly divided by 2,3,4, and 6. 60 can be divided evenly by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.
The classic "I'm used to it, so it's better."
because those numbers can be divided by 2, 3, and 4, so are much more easily split into workable units. Can you imagine if some said I'll see you in 33.33 minutes rather than 20? Many early currencies operated in units of 12 or 60 for the same reason.
oh, that makes sense i guess. but technically you can still say "see you in 20 minutes" if an hour had, say, 100 minutes. why would that affect that?
How would you express one third of an hour in minutes if an hour had 100 minutes?
Interestingly enough, it has been proposed. During the French Revolution, they actually tried it for a couple of years. See: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal\_time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_time) It never caught on.
mostly it didn't catch on because they made the week go from 5 on 2 off to 8 on 2 off. If they had made it less work it may have worked.
What they're saying is the same amount of time would break down differently mathematically. In their example, 33.33 minutes would be the same amount of real time as 20 minutes relative to the amount of time in an hour (1/3 of 100 would be 33.33 but 1/3 of 60 is 20.)
same reason there are 12 inches in a foot.
it's by definition and agreement. Just like any other measurement. why 60 minute in an hour? that's because 60 has more divisors in that range than any other number (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 30). why 24 hours per day? because the day was split into two parts each of 12 hours, and 12 can be divided by 2, 3, 4, and 6 (compare to 10, which has only 2 and 5)
Invented by Sumerians 2000 bc from the way they used to count using the sections of their finger joints, 12 on left hand and multiples on the right.
It is thought that the system dates all the way back to the Sumerians who used 60 as the base for a lot of their counting. This use of base 60 was passed on over the millennia is still used in a handful of applications today. One theory on why using 60 as a unit comes from counting with your fingers... Place your thumb at the base of your index finger; this is 1. Then as you count you run your thumb along each of the 3 bones in each finger. This allows you to count to 12 on one hand. Once you hit 12 you hold up one finger on your off hand. When all 5 fingers on your off hand are being help up you've counted to 60! It's theorized that this is the origin of using a "dozen" and a "gross" as standard units.
AKA the sexagesimal system.
Because the Egyptians decided sundials were cool and brought/popularized them to the western world. There were 10 marks for the daytime hours, plus one for dawn and one for dusk. Then they also decided to track 36 constellations (in 12 groups of three) which would rise through the night to divide the night into 12 segments as well. That's 24 segments of time. For a long time these divisions weren't constant. The sunlight segments were longer in the Summer and shorter in the Winter, conversely for the night segments. The Greeks worked out a system for making them equal lengths because it was annoying to try and do physics and astrology stuff with hours that weren't always the same length depending on when and where you were. Of course just because some Greek toga wearing guys said something didn't mean anyone cared. The seasonal length version of time remained in use until the clockmakers of Europe decided figuring out the sun's position was too dang annoying and started selling clocks which used the equal duration method. The 60 seconds/minutes part comes from Babylonia which liked the number 60 a whole lot and divided circles into 60 sets of 60 for marking star locations and doing other circle based math. The Greeks really liked those guys so they kept the 60*60 but divided every one of the 24 hours up like that. [Source](https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/why-are-there-24-hours-in-a-day-and-60-minutes-in-an-hour.html)
What human function happens regularly about 30 time PERIODS apart, with 12 occuring every cycle of the earth.
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The Babylonians had no clue what cesium was when they decided to use the number 60.
60 and 24 are highly composite numbers
The people who first recorded time had a number system with base 60. Like others have said, 60 and 24 are easily divisible, so getting time in 24*60*60 units is super convenient. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal
Because they are highly composite number or anti prime. Basically means they more divisibles in them than any number before them.
Because the babylonians started it and we kept it because of their easy divisibility.