Keeping Time | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here, too. And we're just hanging out and we. decided, hey, let's do some talking. about timekeeping. So, that's what we're. doing today. >> Yeah. Uh Olivia helped us put this one. together. I I think the charge was, hey, how about something on the history of.

timekeeping? >> Mhm. >> Without getting too in the weeds about. how all of these things work. Uh cuz that's a a whole other thing, like if you want to really break down. clocks and watches. But I think she did. it just right. The Goldilock zone, as. they say. >> Oh, nice. Nice astronomical cosmological. reference there. >> Uh well, I think that is a reference for. a lot of things, right? >> No, just that. >> Okay. Um, where did you get this idea? Because. this was one you came up with.

>> You know, man, I don't know. I think I. was maybe thinking about a watch on my. wrist. >> Okay. >> And then wondering or no, maybe I saw. someone uh had a uh what do you call. those things that that an hourglass? >> Okay. >> And I was wondering about just. hourglasses. And then I started thinking. about like just you know the concept of. time and when people started keeping. time and I was kind of had a hunch and I. was right that you know the need to keep. time didn't come around till much later.

So like as we'll see early timekeeping. was more like seasonal or astrological. >> Um and then it didn't get to be a thing. like hey I have an appointment at a at a. certain minute until much much later. >> Yeah. But earlier than you'd think or. earlier than I thought at least. >> Yeah, agreed. >> So, speaking of timekeeping, you really. can kind of say the whole thing just. started out with the sun. And one of the. neat things about life on Earth is that. um you can cast a shadow. Most things.

cast a shadow with the exception of. maybe like amibe or something like that. >> But if you put like a stick in the. ground, >> uh it's going to cast shadows that move. throughout the day. And if you really. pay attention to this kind of stuff, you. can actually use it to track time. throughout the day. And that is almost. certainly the earliest way that humans. track time. And the stick they put in. the ground is widely known as a nomon. G. N O M O N. I think it means rod in.

Greek, maybe. I also saw that it was. slang in Greek for penis. >> Oh, really? >> Yeah. And um that just just. >> like hey check out the nom on that guy. >> Yeah almost exactly that if not that but. just said in in ancient Greek. >> Okay gotcha. >> in helenic. Um. >> but just tracking the shadow that the. noman cast hopefully just a stick in the. ground. Um. >> that's that was early timekeeping.

>> Oh man I have a thousand jokes I'm just. going to walk right past at this point. Good for you, buddy. You're a pro. >> I know. I'm growing up here at 54. Uh so. that was Yeah, that's what people used. for the longest time. And that. eventually, as we'll see, would carry. over to things like sund dials. But it's. no surprise that uh China was way ahead. of the game as far as type timekeeping. goes because the oldest surviving sort. of actual thing that we have comes from. northern China from an archaeological.

site uh that they found dated back to. 2,300 BC. Mhm. >> Uh and again, as you'll see, this is a. recurring theme. Like I mentioned, it. wasn't necessarily like, hey, we got to. keep the time from day to day. It's more. like let's calculate the seasons or, you. know, the things happening up in the. sky, >> right? Because it was snowing in the. middle of China and somebody said, "What. season is it?" And somebody else said, "Let's find out with this gnome.". >> And the other person was like, "No, don't pull that out." And they're like, "No, I mean the stick.". >> Right?

They said, "You can get cancelled for. that." Right? So, if you're like, "Well, that sounds a. lot like a um a sund dial." You're. right. The the thing that sticks up for. the sundial is a nom. There's another. version of it that's even earlier than. the sund dial. It seems from ancient. Egypt called the shadow clock. >> Yeah. >> It's actually really hard to describe. It's much easier to just go look up. But. imagine a capital T laying flat on its. back on the ground and it's raised its. head and neck up to look at its feet.

That's essentially. >> that's kind of perfect actually. >> Thank you. I really thought about that. one for a while I have to admit. >> But the the shadow that that crossbar. the top of the tea casts on the rest of. the tea over the day is demarcated. So. you can track six hours a day as the sun. is rising in the east and then you turn. it around at noon and then you track the. next six hours of the the sun is setting. in the west. Pretty spectacular. considering that's close to 3,000 years.

old. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh, for that. description, did it help you that you. were laying flat on your back with your. neck raised up looking at your feet? >> Yeah. Sadly, I have to admit that I I. had to go lay down and figure it out. myself. >> Okay, that's good. >> But yes, I I wasn't able to. >> Nice work. Uh, finally to the sund dial. The first round s dial that we kind of. know as a sund dial. um seems like it. was created by a Greek philosopher named. uh Anexmander. Very cool name, not.

Alexander, but Anexmander. >> of Malatus. Uh this was 6th century BC. Uh but again, probably still tracking. seasons at this point. Um the first sun. dials out of Greece that actually marked. hours, like when people started keeping. track of the hourly time. And as we'll. see it, you know, it just gets more. specific until be eventually much later. we'll get to minutes. But the hourly. timekeeping started in 350 B.CE. >> Yeah. Um and then very quickly after.

that around 280 B.CE they came up with. the hemicycle which is um imagine like a. cube block of stone with a basin a bowl. carved out of the middle. >> and then they managed to cut it. perfectly in half so that you just have. half of a bowl. That's a hemicycle. because it turns out all you need is. half a bowl to make a sund dial like. that. And I really do wonder if somebody. built them like that. Like they'd make. the one, split it in two, and then all. of a sudden they had two hemicycles to. sell. >> I bet you're getting really good at.

describing things at this juncture in. your career. >> It took me long enough. We're almost to. year 18. It It is It's dismaying to to. try to explain something and then just. make it even more confusing than it was. initially. I finally got dismayed enough. that I decided to do something about it. >> And what I did was lay down naked and. think it over. >> Uh, by the way, quick correction because. a listener just wrote in about this. Um, we're about to be at year 19 completed.

year 18 technically. >> No, really. >> Yeah, cuz year 19 and year 20 are the. are uh, you know, the the two next. years. >> Does that make sense? It does, but I I. feel like it's wrong because started in. April 2008 and going to April of 2026, that's 18 years. >> completed. >> I see. >> Yeah, I should have known right when. somebody busted out math. I should have. just been like, "Yep, that's right.".

>> Uh the cool thing about the the Hemi. cycle, um besides the fact that people. back then probably said, "Is that thing. a Hemi?" when they walked by. >> Uh, you know, I couldn't resist that. one. But, um, they they knew at that. point, it was a pretty smart thing, that. the sun's position, uh, changes over the. course of the year, over the course of. those seasons, obviously shorter winter. hours, which we're going to get to. Um, but they they accounted for that. They. had sun dials that would show the time. using multiple arcs carved into the. hemisphere to account for that um, sun.

changing over the course of the year. >> Yeah. So like the lines of the hours. went up like um longitude and then the. seasons were like latitude and I guess. just depending on how high up or how um. shallow the the shadows where you could. tell what season it was because it was. within one of those arcs or two of those. arcs or three or four, right? >> Yeah. And you know I mentioned the. seasonal hours uh when Greek sundials. started dividing daytime into 12 equal. parts. uh obviously not ours because we. eventually ended up at 24 like not ours.

as we know it but they would depend on. the length of the season. So it's not. like they accounted for it so they were. all uniform. It was just like hey. sometimes during the year uh what they. will one day call an hour is longer than. others. >> uh which would lead to some kind of a. cool thing where ancient texts in Greece. uh would refer to that like a winter. hour is something that could be done in. a shorter amount of time like that'll. just take you a winter hour. >> Yeah. And this was so this was the. ancient Greeks. This lasted well into. the medieval period. That's how people.

did hours. The hour was longer in the. summer, the hour was shorter in the. winter. And it was essentially their way. of um what we do for daylight savings. time by adjusting. >> Yeah. Except we're just, you know, modern humans are way too uh anal to. just let it kind of flow like that. Still got to be exact, you know. >> Right. Right. Okay. Okay, so you got the. sund dial and everybody was like, well, we move around a lot and not every place. has a sund dial, but I always want to. know what time it is. And what humans do.

is take a technology and figure out how. to shrink it down into a portable size. And they did that with sund dials, too, usually made of bronze. And because they. were mobile, they would also have. settings and often instructions on how. to adjust it depending on where you were. in the world. like some of the ancient. ones um that have been found have like. just put it to this setting if you're in. Constantinople or put it in this setting. if you're in Luxer, right? And then.

other ones you kind of have to figure it. out a little more based on latitude, but. they were portable and essentially they. were like pocket watches but amazing. bronze spheres sometimes. >> Yeah. So, like once they could do that, uh, they would hang it facing the sun. >> so that that little pointers I guess it. was was it still called a a nomon at. this point? >> I would think so. I think some people. still call them nomons when they're. referring to sun dials. >> Yeah, I think you're right. Uh, but they. would face the sun so that that pointer.

shadow would hit the correct hour. >> Um, later on they had different types. that had like a pinhole that let the. beam of sunlight come through and. actually shine a mark on the hour, which. was like super advanced at the time. Yeah, it was like the staff of RAW. model. >> Oh, yeah. >> So, um there were there was a big reason. that people were keeping track of the. hours in ancient Rome. Um especially by. the time Rome came around, it wasn't. necessarily to keep appointments, although they certainly had that kind of. thing or to keep time on stuff. One of.

the big things over the years in. different cultures, it turns out, was um. they needed to time things, especially for something like drawing. water. Like water was a communal. resource and everyone had a certain. aotment and they would um divvy up those. aotments not by measuring how much water. was taken up but by take as much water. as you can within this you know before. this beam of sunlight reaches this this. little line essentially right. >> yeah yeah. >> but in Rome they had an extra reason for.

it and that was because um the hours of. every single day or the first 12 hours. of every single day because it wasn't. initially that they were also like Let's. track the nighttime too. They just. tracked from sunrise to sunset. typically. >> Yeah. >> Um each of those hours was associated. with the different astrological sign. It. was called planetary hours. And it was. because so you could maximize um whoever. you were worshiping. So like if you were. wor worshiping Seline, the moon goddess, >> um you wanted to do that three hours.

after sunrise on Monday. And so you. would use some sort of timekeeping. device to keep track of that. >> Yeah. And the same of course is true in. Islam once that became a big thing. Uh. the Muslims adopted sund dials because. they're you know have to pray in at. different increments at different times. So it was really to kind of keep up with. their prayer hours. >> Uh and they are the ones who came up. with like if you have a a sundial in. your garden as a little thing which we. we have one of those. I bought one for. Emily a few years ago.

>> Cute. That kind of sund dial is what the. Muslims came up with. That the one. that's got the flat circular base and. that noman is am I saying that right? Yeah. The noman is parallel to the polar. axis of the planet earth. >> Yeah. They also laid trigonometry on the. whole thing and came up with a bunch of. different kinds of sun dials. There's. one that was conicle and remember the. hemicycle. Imagine taking that and just kind of. squishing the bowl and adjusting it at. an angle. Mhm.

>> That's what a conicle sund dial is. They. look amazingly cool. So, I say look one. of those up. Uh, and then finally, I think before we. break, we should give a shout out to uh. early 13th century Moroccan. mathematician uh Abu Al-Hazan al-. Marakushi because this is the dude that. was finally like, you know what? Um, uniform hours is where it's at and we. should start kind of keeping track track. of this stuff in a uniform way, like. actual real timekeeping and that kind of.

spread out all over the world from. there. >> Very nice. Yeah. >> All right. Well, let's take that break. then. It's time. >> All right. We'll be right back. >> You should know.

Okay, Chuck. So, we're back. And before. we move on, I want to say that I finally. got it. Reggie Watts or Reggie Watts. >> Did you listen to it in QA? >> When I was QAing it, I got it and I was. like, man, that zoomed right past me. >> Well, you were in a thought and I. slipped it in there very stealthily. >> It was very great. >> All right. Nice little treat for you. >> We're talking about the National Radio. Quiet Zone episode, by the way, everybody. >> That's right. >> So, um, you got sundials. Next thing. that we moved on to is water. >> Um, a bunch of different cultures came.

up with water clocks. It's not clear if. it again it started in China and moved. to Greece and then moved to the um. Muslim countries. Who knows? But it's. also possible that this that people came. up with this. There were just so many. things available to you to use to try to. keep track of time. And there were. really simple water clocks. Water was. eventually used to run mechanical. clocks. But the first ones essentially. were like almost um uh hourglasses. >> Uhhuh.

>> Made of water. Yeah. I mean, essentially what you're. doing is you're either keeping track of. time uh by water draining out of. something that's marked by increments or. filling something up that's marked by. increments, right? >> Yeah, pretty much. I mean, that's that's. essentially it. And um you could. supplement sundials with these because. on a sundial if it was really overcast. Yeah. >> you had no idea what time it was. >> At night, these things worked as well. The really there were two problems with.

them. one was that they would freeze. If. it was freezing, um your your water. clock probably wouldn't work quite as. well. Um and then also the viscosity of. water can change um depending on. variables like temperature and stuff. like that. So they weren't entirely. accurate or reliable all the time, but. they did the trick for enough um time. that people started to improve on them. and add different kind of uh engineering. principles like floats and valves and. siphons to regulate water more um.

accurately. >> Yeah. I wonder if there was ever like, sorry I'm late, you know, we had a cold. snap, my water clock froze. >> Like you got to move those things. inside, buddy. I guarantee somebody used. that excuse. >> Yeah, for sure. But because of the. issues with water and temperature and. stuff like that, mercury became a pretty. reliable substitute. Uh this was in 10th. century CE. >> Uh and it was a Chinese engineer who. figured this out and that basically, you.

know, solved a lot of the problems. because mercury wouldn't freeze. It. wouldn't have different viscosities at. different temperatures and it would. ensure that you're on time to that. appointment. >> Yeah. And that um engineer was Jiang. Cun. >> They show off. I was just gonna walk. right past that. >> Here's my favorite kind of early me. Is. it? Yeah. I'm not surprised. >> Uh incense clocks. >> Yeah. And I'm not even into incense. anymore. Uh I was in college, I think, like most people are. >> Same here. I used to burn some.

frankincense, man. >> Yeah, me too. But I really love this. one. This existed in China at least. since uh the 6th century CE. Um, also in. other parts of Asia and Korea and Japan. for sure. Um, but it's I love the idea. because essentially it's it's almost. like a fuse and as we'll see it. sometimes was a literal fuse, but. incense was burned and used as a timer. like how how quickly does that thing. burn down and stop burning? >> Yeah. The coolest ones though were. incense clocks that were like a box and.

it was essentially like a intricate maze. that you would um pack with uh incense. and then light it. And there were. different um I guess stencils that you. put on top of the box to to create. different times. Um so like if you. wanted an hour that was a very simple. maze. If you wanted the whole night it. was a much more intricate maze. And um. that's another thing I would say to look. up. There's a lot of stuff you should go. and look up throughout this episode. And.

incense clocks are definitely one of. them. >> Yeah. But, and I'm glad you saved this. one for me because I think it's the. coolest part about all of the incense. clock stuff is that they had different. scents and it just makes sense over the. course of a night where you could smell. the time. So, >> you knew when a certain smell came up. what time it was, which I think is super. like ingenious in its simplicity. And. also like uh you know you know what. happens at Sandalwood time. >> Um. >> the sexiest time.

>> Yeah. I've got jokes that I'm keeping to. myself. >> Yeah. Good. >> Um there were also alarm clocks. You. could use the heat um from an incense um. stick I guess or whatever to basically. burn through a thread and drop a bunch. of um like bells or something into a. metal dish. That'll wake you up for sure. every time. And apparently Chinese. messengers would take um incense and. light one end and put the other end. between their toes and wake themselves. up like that which is. >> man just drink a bunch of water. That's.

all you need to do. Don't burn your. toes. >> Yeah, that's true. But like I said, that's like literally lighting a fuse. and it like you know you get the the hot. foot and you know it's time to get up. and deliver the mail or whatever. >> That's right. >> Uh we also have candle clocks that came. along. This is the medieval era. Um, notably Alfred the Great, um, supposedly. would get his day together, uh, and time. it by, um, six candles. Each would burn. for about four hours. So 6* 4, 24. >> Yeah. You could also take, say, a 4-hour.

candle and break it like just mark equal. lines across it and basically keep track. of time like that, too. >> Then there's astrolabes. I'm not even. going to try to really describe an. astrolab. Go look those up. They are. incredibly. um intricate mechanically. They they. were invented um by the Muslims in. >> I think the sixth century CE. So it's. just amazing that they were able to do. this. And astrolabes were used at sea. until the Sexton came along about a. thousand years later essentially. That's.

how effective they were. But you could. navigate with them. You could survey. with them. You could also keep time with. them because you just adjust the. astrolab to mimic the stars or something. like that. and you can be like, "Oh, it's 2:30. It's sandalwood time.". >> That's right. It's sandalwood time. Uh. then we finally get to the hourglass. Uh. but later than you think, and. especially, and I'm glad Livia dug deep. because she's a great researcher, but if. you just sort of do cursory internet. research, you might find a lot of people. saying it's ancient Egypt. Um but that's.

probably not the case. It's actually. much later than that. probably the late. medieval period that hourglasses came. along and and actually after the mechan. mechanical clock. >> That's nuts. >> Uh the earliest known reference is in. Italy in 1338. And you think an. hourglass is pretty easy to make like uh. you know you just uh blow the glass in a. certain way and throw the sand in there. But uh sand is finicky as you know as. far as humidity and moisture go. So you. had to uh get the sand in there and you.

had to seal it up. But you couldn't seal. it up with any kind of moisture because. it would clump up. So, it it's a little. trickier to make an hourglass than you. might imagine. >> Yeah. When it's humid out, um the soap. opera Days of Our Lives never gets. started, >> right? >> It's sad. >> Was that the one you watched in college? >> I think that's what people wrote in and. said, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure.". >> I couldn't remember. Okay. >> Um so, one of the other things humans do. when they have an invention that's. popular and widespread, uh they don't. just shrink it down to a miniature.

portable size, they also just show off. Yeah, >> they do whatever they can to make it. even cooler. And there were a succession. of uh inventors in different parts of. the world over the years that did some. really neat stuff with say like water. clocks. One was a guy named uh Andron. Nikos. He was from Macedonia and he. built um what's called the Tower of. Winds in Athens. It's this I think. hexagon or octagon made of marble that's.

15 meters or about 45 ft tall. still. standing, but when it was in use, it had. water clocks, it had sun dials, you. could um you could gauge the wind, you. could tell what was going on. celestially. He just basically packed. every um neato timekeeping invention. that was around at the time into this. thing. >> Yeah. And like you said, a lot of people. just started getting um just sort of. fancy with it and actually just really. creative. uh in 8th century CE there was.

a Chinese Buddhist monk uh who along. with his colleagues created a a clock. that was a water powered wheel. >> had a gear system. This is when gears. really started uh becoming a huge thing. in timekeeping. >> Yeah. >> Uh and it did a single rotation every 24. hours which you think like all right. that just sounds sort of regular. Uh but. it also had like bells chiming on the. hour and it had a drum beat that chimed. every quarter hour. So this is when like. kind of hearing chimes and things to. tell you what time it was came in. >> Mhm. It went bench every 15 minutes.

>> That's right. >> Uh there's a guy named Susong who is. very famous for his um 35 foot I also. saw it described as 40 foot clock tower. >> Um one of the things it did were there. were mannequins that came out and rang. gongs. >> Yeah. >> Like you usually associate this with. like maybe some sort of cuckoo clock or. something like that. This is from um the. 11th century. So, it's pretty pretty. impressive that he came up with this. And again, it was a water clock. Like. this is running on water. And then.

someone else who put water clocks to. great use was a just this amazing. inventor and engineer. Um his name was. Ismael Al Jazari. He was from upper. Mesopotamia. and his whole thing was not. just accurate clock um timekeeping, but. um just essentially delightful little. add-ons that did some cool stuff. He. created what's called the castle clock. That's pretty neat. But for my money, look up the elephant clock. There's a a.

life-siz replica of it and a museum, I. think, in Saudi Arabia, and you can see, you know, how it works and what it does. But essentially, water just moves from. part to part. There's a scribe in the. middle riding on the elephant. There's. another person on the front of the. elephant driving it. There's another guy. way up that plays symbols and stuff. It's just amazing, especially when you. um learn about how every single step. works. >> Yeah, that thing you sent that to me. That was super cool looking.

>> Yeah, very ornate. Uh now we kind of get. to the point. Should we break or can we. keep going? >> Yeah, let's take a break. >> All right, we'll be right back. with Josh you. stuff you should know. All right, so we're back uh to wrap it.

up on clocks and eventually spoiler. watches. But, uh, we're at the point now. where clocks kind of start ticking and. we're getting closer and closer to. keeping track of, uh, seconds, although. that'll be a second till we get to it. Um, but as far mechanical clocks go, uh, those water powered Chinese clocks. arguably were the first mechanical. clocks. Uh, and again, it's one of those. things where they don't know if people. invented these in Europe or the Muslim. world uh, at the same time or if it kind.

of spread out from one place to another. Um, another origin story is maybe. mechanical clocks came from Europe with. uh, is it would it be Gerbert? >> I think so. >> Gerbert of Arlac who was a French. scholar. Uh, but you might know him a. little better as Pope Sylvester II. >> Oh, okay. >> Because he would become Pope later on. He developed, I guess, in his pre- pope. days a mechanical time uh, timekeeping. device like truly mechanical in 996 CE.

Uh but then it took a few hundred years. for it to become like for mechanical. clocks to become a real thing. It didn't. really catch on, >> right? Which makes some people suspect. that that he might not have actually. done that. >> Yeah. So what's happened here, I guess. we've transitioned from tracking the. movement of water to track time to. actually using the kinetic energy in. water that's say flowing downhill to run. gears and stuff like that. Those are. those are the mechanical um time devices.

that were were um that were some of the. original mechanical ones. Like the. Chinese came up with this very long time. ago. When Europe got involved, they um. removed water to to run gears and. replaced them with weights. But it's the. same principle at at at work. Like if. you hold a um a weight up on a rope and. let it fall down, gravity's going to. pull it toward the earth and um it's. releasing kinetic energy. If you can. control its descent, you can use that to. turn gears and to keep track of time in.

a very specific way. I mean, it's not. nearly as accurate as anything we we. track time with today, but it was still. pretty impressive that they were making. these in like the 13th century. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh there was a monk in. 1271 named Roberus Anglicus who uh he. talked about there was actually a Latin. term uh horosia. uh which is the Latin term for time. measuring device. >> and they were using weights to turn. wheels like exactly one time over the.

course of one day. Uh and again they. would get kind of break that down and. get more specific as they learn more. about gears and how the weights work. But um you know the weights if you look. at a grandfather clock uh or a cuckoo. clock like these things all have uh and. we'll get to the pendulums not only. pendulums in a grandfather clock but. it's weights that are still operating. this thing. >> Yeah. And one of the um inventions that. really kind of it was a gamecher. um it's called the virgin foliat. mechanism. Essentially, you remember in.

Karate Kid 2 where all of those Okinawan. villagers are sitting there um playing. their hand drums. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. So, that's essentially a verge and. a foliat kind of imagine the drum part. is the I think folat and the verge is. the handle and when there's like a a. crown wheel the gear the main gear that. operates a clock. um when it turns it. turns the foliate and the foliiet turns.

like slowly one way and then slowly back. another and when it moves back in. position the gears allowed to turn. So. you're actually controlling the kinetic. energy of those weights that's falling. and making the whole thing move and by. doing that in a precise way that's how. you can keep track of time. >> Yeah. And you know it stays constant. because uh that thing is constantly. stopping and starting. So it's going to. keep that weight from picking up. momentum as it as it goes down and. descends. So that's how you get the. constant speed. Uh and that's also how.

you can create a ticking sound. It's. just that little you know constant. intermittent movement. >> Yeah. And the but you wouldn't it. doesn't move like a a Okinowan hand drum. moves. I mean it moves not as fast. I. should say that'd be it'd be a out of. control clock. >> if that were. >> Yeah. And didn't that drum move faster. and faster the more intense that the. scenes got in that movie? >> Yeah. >> Oh yeah, man. It really helped build the. suspense, I think, during the main. fight, maybe. >> Yeah. I mean, this it was a pretty smart.

device for a movie. >> It was a good sequel. As far as sequels. go, it was they didn't just, you know, build on the last one. They really kind. of went all out in recreating things. >> Yeah. and one of the great bad movies of. all time. And I'm I'm lobbying to get on. uh Friend of the Show, The Flop House, the the best bad movie podcast out there. in my opinion. >> to do Karate Kid 3, which is. hugely entertaining as a bad movie. >> Is that even worse than um Jaden Smith's. Karate Kid? Cuz I heard that was pretty.

bad. >> I didn't see it, but Karate Kid 3 is Oh. man, if you're into a fun bad movie to. watch with people, Karate Kid 3 is one. And that was one where I thought I. talked about on the show at some point, but where um God, Ruby was probably like. six years old and and came up with like. legit her first quality joke watching. that movie. >> Can you share it? >> Uh I don't know if it would translate. I'll tell you later. >> Okay, that's fine. Yeah, >> but good for her. Six is a good age to.

come up with a quality joke. Bye. Actually, I I think I could actually. There there's a recurring thing in that. movie that happens where every time the. bad guys come into a place, they turn a. light off. Like they'll come into a. warehouse to fight and they turn the. light off. It happened like two or three. times. >> And I kept going like, "What is going. on? It's so weird." And then later in. the movie, they they rush out and find. Daniel's son and Miyagi in a forest. And. Ruby said, "That'd be funny if they. reached over to a tree and turned the. moon off.".

>> That's good. That is a quality joke. It's a pretty good joke. >> Y. >> yeah. >> Um yeah, I haven't seen The Karate Kid. 3. I I know of it. I know Hillary. Swank's The Karate Kid in that one. >> No, no, no, no, no. Uh well, maybe I'm. getting the number wrong. Karate Kid 3. was was actually uh Daniel and Miyagi. still. >> Oh, was it? >> Yeah. Unless I have it out of order. It's not But I know it's not the Hillary. Swank one, obviously. >> Okay. All right. >> Yeah. So, it's either three or four. >> Well, I haven't seen the one you're. talking about either. I don't remember.

anybody turning off any lights anywhere. >> Yeah, it's it's truly bad in a great. way. >> Okay, so um just. >> back to clocks. >> Just like in the Muslim world, um. timekeeping pieces in Europe were. initially to to um keep people on track. for daily prayers. Apparently, monks and. monasteries prayed seven times a day, but there were also meals. There was. also beer brewing time. Um and so these. these early clocks the using the virgin. foliate mechanism and weights uh they.

help keep the monks on track. >> Yeah, >> monks are associated with churches. So. very soon after that churches um started. keeping clocks as well. And fun fact, one of the reasons that churches often. have very very tall steeples um often. with bells on top is because those used. to be parts of the clock. To run a clock. so big that it can ring that bell, you. need to have very heavy weights that are. coming and descending from a very high.

place. >> Yeah, for sure. Nice little factoid. there. >> I love that one. >> Uh and the oldest uh surviving. mechanical clock is in a church. It was. built for the Solace Berry uh Cathedral. Uh that was in 1386. Uh but these clocks didn't have a face. yet. uh it was still, you know, uh like. ringing a bell kind of thing to know. what time it was. And in fact, the the. word clock comes from uh the French word. uh is it cloch, I guess. >> Mhm. Like that glass thing dome you put.

over stuff. >> Yeah. Which is a bell. Uh but you know, it wasn't too long after that that they. said, "Hey, if we can um have a clock. turning gears, uh how hard would it be. to actually put a a sund dial kind of. like thing on the front of it and turn. the gears of a hand so people could. actually see what time it was?". >> And they went, "Not that hard. We can do. that.". >> They're like, "Are you talking about a. moving gnom?" And the monk said, "That's. exactly what I'm talking about.". >> That's right.

>> Um so there's this really interesting. take on all that. the fact that um. clocks started um tracking time in. monasteries and then churches and the. cities that were built around churches. would all hear the bell so people knew. what time it was all of a sudden. It. wasn't like um uh the the sky is purple. so I better milk the cows. It was like. oh it's 1 in the afternoon so I better. milk the cows, right? Because apparently. the sky would turn purple at 1 in the. afternoon in medieval Europe. And. there's a philosopher named Lewis.

Mumford. I think he was working in the. 1930s and he says that that is the birth. of the modern era, not steam power that. came hundreds of years later, >> right? >> Removing people from the rhythms of the. natural rhythms of the day and imposing. time on them. All of a sudden, you could. be like, "Be at my uh blacksmith shop at. three or else you're fired." You know? Yeah. What a drag. Exactly. I think. that's a really good um case that he.

makes. >> Yeah. No, totally. I mean, it was a real. gamecher and that's when everyone got a. little bit more uptight, I imagine. >> I imagine as well, >> you know, uh and we still didn't have. minutes at this point. Like those. clocks, uh that we were talking about, you know, grinding those gears around, you could still have a, you know, a. decent hour um as far as accuracy goes. The word minute actually to mean what we. meant it didn't even come around until. the late 14th century. So minutes are um. a relatively modern thing if you.

consider 14th century modern, >> right? Um and thanks for letting me take. that Lewis Mumford little tidbit. >> Well, yeah. Did you like that one? >> I love it. It's almost as good as the um. the different smells of incense. >> Yeah. Well, you know, we like to scratch. each other's backs. >> Um another joke skipped. Uh so you can. take weights and their kinetic energy. and really now you can do you can take.

anything that has kinetic energy and use. it to control its release and you can. use that to do things like drive gears. and things like that and you can use. those gears to keep time with. Well, a. coiled spring has a lot of kinetic. energy. And yeah, replacing the weights. in clocks with coiled springs meant they. became portable because of course humans. love to make things portable. >> Yeah. But they were still pretty inexact. because uh friction is a thing. So.

depending on like how well it's made, how well it was lubricated, if it was. hot, if it was humid, uh that would that. would make just change the way clocks. work. So they were still pretty inexact. at this point. So sun dials were still. uh kind of preferred. Water clocks were. still preferred for a long time. >> and actually more precise. Uh if you. really want to jump forward in. precision, uh you can look no further. than uh Galileo Galilee and the turn of. the 17th century. and he was the one.

that kind of came up with this idea of a. pendulum when he started measuring the. movement of lamps swinging on a chord. using his own pulse beat as a reference. >> Pretty cool. >> Yeah. So he he found like you can use a. pendulum to keep time. The reason why is. a pendulum swing is divided in exactly. in half time- wise, right? So um that's. what's called a harmonious oscillator. Each swing to the left or the right is. the exact same amount of time. And even. more than that, when a pendulum loses.

energy, that doesn't change. The arcs. just get a little shorter, but they're. still equal to one another, right? So, Galileo figured out that you could use. that uh information to build the clock. He developed the clock. Uh he never. built it because he kept um being called. away by the indigo girls to help them. get through life. So, he wasn't able to. build it. his son uh started to build it. but as Galileo always said that boy. never finished anything that he started.

so he didn't complete it and finally in. 1656. the Dutch mathematician Christian Hugans. um the the son Galileo always wanted he. ended up creating that clock the first. pendulum clock that Galileo had kind of. come up with. >> yeah that was in 1656 and almost right. after that there was an English. scientist named Robert Hook. with an e at the end said you know what. I can make that thing better. Uh and he. replaced the verge with you know that we.

mentioned earlier with a uh something. called an anchor escapement which was. just a new mechanism to to regulate uh. the swing I guess. Uh but that allowed. the arc of the pendulum to be reduced. from about 100 I'm sorry 100 degree. swing to 4 to six degrees which again. meant you could pack it in a packageable. size. >> Yeah. And also they found that um less. of a swing they found that the less wide. the arc the more accurate the. timekeeping was.

>> Um anchor escapements are almost. impossible to explain unless you see it. actually happening and then you're like, "Oh, okay. That totally makes sense.". >> But I I say go look up a video of how. anchor escapements work because it's. pretty amazing. Um, and so because you. have um slower moving pendulums, they. require less power, which means you need. less weight. And eventually there was a. guy named William Clement who put all of. this stuff together uh and in 1680 came. up with what we now call grandfather.

clocks. And because of everything that. had kind of developed from Galileo on, um, Clement was able to add a minute. hand. And now all of a sudden you knew. what minute it was of the hour. thanks. to William Clement. >> That's right. Uh, and of course, you're. referring to the longcase clock. It. didn't get the name grandfather clock. until 1820 I'm sorry, 1876. >> And that's actually from a song called. My Grandfather's Clock. Uh, that's where.

it's about. I mean, it's kind of a sad. song about a clock that this uh this guy. had who or his grandfather had and it. quit working when he died and it was a. really popular song. So, long case. clocks became my grandfather's clock. And the singer and I think writer was a. guy named Henry Clay, not Henry Clay. People, >> but Henry Clay work, >> you know. Um, that's a redux of our. first short stuff. >> I thought I we had talked about that, right? >> That was the very first one. Huh?

>> Yeah. Grandfather clocks, >> man. >> Um, so pendulum clocks. Everyone said. this is great. I love these um long. casegrandfather clocks. Um but finally. in the 20s people had figured out I. guess centuries before in the 19th. century a century before that um you. could keep time um with a crystal they. they uh produced reliable oscillations. that you could track for time um and. people figured out how to use that and. watches for that I would say go listen.

to our atomic clock episode. >> Yeah that was a good one. Um out from. crystal uh quartz came atomic clocks and. from atomic clocks came things like GPS. It's how your iPhone or you know Google. phone keeps track of um the time knows. exactly what time it is thanks to an. atomic clock. So we went from sun to uh. water to pendulums to crystals to atoms. >> That's right. Uh, and by the way, I bet.

I made that same dumb Henry Clay joke in. that short stuff, didn't I? >> I'll have to go back and listen, but. anytime you get a chance to mention. Henry Clay People, you do, and I support. it fully, >> of course. Uh, for those of you who. don't know, Henry Clay People was a. great band and friends of the show, uh, from our good pals Joey and Andy Sara, the brothers, uh, musical brothers, screenwriting brothers, and they did the. theme song to the Stuff You Should Know. TV show. >> That's right. It was a great theme song. Very catchy. and they're still uh great.

friends. I see Joey all the time because. he lives in New York now and Andy's. still in LA. >> That's awesome. Shout out to those. dudes. >> That's right. So, we're back. Not we're. back. We're all of a sudden headed. toward watches, everyone. >> Uh and I mean this again could be an. entire episode on watches, so we're not. going to get too in the weeds. Uh but uh. those spring-based uh clocks of course. that that spring was kind of the key in. the 15th century uh eventually involved. to wearable clocks like flavor of flave. and then then eventually we got to.

watches by the 16th century. Uh of. course we were talking about pocket. watches initially kind of thing you uh. hang from your vest or your belt or. something and it was a real fashion. statement at the time. >> Uh but as that technology progressed. they got smaller and smaller. Um maybe. not more accurate, but just smaller. enough to where you could finally put. one on your wrist if you were uh the the. countest of Hungary in 1868. >> Yeah. Um or one of uh Emperor Wilhelm. II's German naval officers in 1880. Um.

because before that, watches were. women's jewelry. That's what they were. considered. Wilhelm II said nine. >> Now it's going to be a military gear. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um and from World War I, which came a. little later, um the American and other. Allied troops who came back home were. like, "You should see these hand clocks. these guys have." And um those became. very quickly starting around the 20s. fashionable in the United States and I. think Great Britain. Um, and in the 20s.

because they became fashion, all of a. sudden there was a lot of attention on. hand clocks and they became um, a lot of. innovations just kind of started to. build very quickly starting in the 20s. >> Yeah. And you know, a lot of the stuff. that that you a lot of features that you. have on a watch, if you're a watch. person, uh, comes from military usage. Um, like the of course I can't remember. any of this because it's off the dome. and I'm a forgetful person, but you know. the watches that have the little uh.

buttons on each side of the winder and. you can like click it to to start. something and then click it to stop it. >> Yeah, stopwatch. >> No, stopwatch. Just like on a regular. wis wristwatch. There's there's a name. for it. I mean, I have one of them. I. just can't think of it right now. >> But it's for a stopwatch function. though, right? >> Well, yeah, essentially. but as it. pertains to the the regular time. Um, but that that was essentially I think. initially to keep track of like when you. would launch a uh uh not a missile like.

the the kind of bomb you drop in a tube. and it shoots somewhere. >> A torpedo. >> Sure. No, like you know when you drop it in a. tube and it shoots up in the air, those. things. >> Yeah. drop a shell into a tube and then. like when it would make the explosion, you would keep track of like you would. time that out so you would know like how. far it's going and calculate that. >> Oh, smart. >> I I think that's the deal. I hope I'm. not wrong. Someone will correct me. >> Um, well, what about water resistance? >> Yeah. I mean, if you if you want to dive. or just uh frolic, then you're going to.

need a waterproof watch. And that came. along with the Rolex uh the Oyster. specifically in 1926. Uh, and then in the 1950s, that's when. um stopwatch functions, although that. was around during the war. So, I'm not. sure the difference between, you know, what I was talking about and an actual. stopwatch. Uh, and my favorite feature, which is luminescence. Um, as you know, I kind of became a bit of a watch guy. and I don't have a ton of them, but got. like seven watches and one of them is a.

uh. >> is oh, not for real watch people, >> okay? >> They have like dozens and hundreds. Uh, but I have one called a Loom Tech. Uh, and that is the the most luminescent. that you can get, I think. And that. thing is so bright and cool. I just love. it. >> Does it leave like floaters on your. vision after you look at it? >> No, but if it's like fully charged and. go into a dark uh closet or something, it's like it's super bright green and. it's awesome. I love it. >> So, you can really time out your spin.

the bottle. >> Oh, sh you know it. because I I don't. want to be in that closet for any longer. than I have to be. I was raised Baptist. >> making awkward conversation. >> Yeah, totally. >> Um, so if you are like I want to hear. more about uh watches TS, we're pretty. much at the end of the episode, but I. would recommend going and listening to. our Swatch episode because we talked a. lot about the transition from mechanical. watches to um uh digital watches in that. episode if I remember correctly. It was.

pretty interesting. Yeah, for sure. Uh, chronographs. That's what I'm talking. about with the watches, by the way. >> But what does it do? >> Uh, it's like a sub dial for the seconds. and minutes and hours, I think. So, the. this the top button will be a start stop. and the bottom is a reset. So, it it did. it would function as like a stopwatch. >> Okay. >> But but I think they got their start. with timing out shells and when they. exploded if I'm not mistaken, >> but not torpedoes. >> Yeah, I think. But again, off the dome.

So, if I'm wrong, I'll apologize. >> You saying chron chronograph chronograph. reminded me of um one little tidbit I. forgot to mention. Remember how we. talked about planetary hours and the. Romans were like this is when you when. you worship, you know, Mars or whatever. >> Yeah. >> Um that is where the word horoscope came. from. Horoscope means hour marker. >> Oh, >> pretty neat, huh? >> Yeah, I like that. Nifty. >> I like it, too. And since Chuck said he. likes it, that obviously means it's time.

for listener mail. >> Uh, that's right. And we read this from. Bill, uh, I guess you would pronounce. this Roo line, >> uh, because he asked a question about. the appropriateness of our live show, >> and we've gotten a few emails, so we. thought we'd kind of get the word out. Hey guys, been listening for uh, for 10. years since commuting from Eerie to. Pittsburgh for a new job. Uh, you fill. countless hours of boredom with. education and smiles as my family and I. now listen to your show almost weekly.

and my now almost 11-year-old son has. grown up listening to you guys uh since. shortly after he was born. >> Nice. >> Uh, so we're coming to your show in. Akran, Ohio, and we're pretty ecstatic. about that. Uh, we can't wait to come, but I was hoping you'll respond and let. me know if the content is appropriate. for our 11-year-old. >> uh to come. We're loose with what he's. allowed to listen to and don't try and. shield him too much from the world. Uh. everything you put out is educational. Uh for instance, the Operation Minsmeat. episode is one of our favorites. But. there's anything particularly mature.

like uh you know, murder stuff or like. the Lizzie Bordon episode, we should. probably be responsible parents. And. Bill and others, uh we're here to say. that uh we're not going to reveal the. topic, but this one is very much kid. appropriate. Uh, the only thing you. might hear, we like to delight people. with a few odd curse words here and. there. >> because we don't do it on the show, but. it's still, what do you call it? PG, PG. >> 13. >> PG11 maybe. >> Yeah. Okay. >> These days. >> Yeah. I would even say depending on the.

kid, maybe PG8. We get some fairly young. kids at our shows. And I've never seen a. parent leave with the child. They usually just leave them behind. >> I think in Scotland, didn't that one. family leave? Yeah, I still don't. understand that. We didn't say anything. even remotely offensive. Yeah. And I I. think they just didn't like the sounds. of our voices or something like that. >> I don't understand. But I don't think it. was anything we said. >> Okay, good. Well, contentwise though, this one is super on the up and up and.

kid appropriate. Nothing scary at all. Super pop cultury, historical, kind of. interesting. Uh but just maybe a curse. word or two or three. Yeah, maybe a blue. joke here or there, but hopefully over. any kid's head. >> Yeah, that's what we like to do is. confuse children so their parents can. explain on the way home. >> That's exactly right. Uh, that's great, Chuck. That was a good idea. Um, if. you're like, "Wait, you guys are going. on tour?" We absolutely are. I would. direct you to uh stuff you should. know.com and click on the on tour button.

and it will show you all the places. we're going to be. And if you click on. those, it will take you to go buy. tickets so you can come see us. This is. the first time in uh years and years, I. guess, since we've been on the road. So, we're kind of excited about coming back. We may be a little rusty. >> Yeah. >> But that also usually means that those. first couple shows get some high-flying. hy jinks. >> Yeah. Get ready. Denver, the mile high. city. How appropriate. >> That's right. Um and uh if you want to. get in touch with us like Bill, right?

>> Yes, >> Bill did. Thanks for that email, Bill. And we'll see you in Akran. Um, you can. email us at stuffodcast@. iheartradio.com. >> Stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iHeart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows.