Skip to main content

Up Next

Back to Show
It's Okay to Be Smart

Why It Is What Time It Is (The History of Time)

Season 5 Episode 36

How did we come up with our system of telling time? Why do we divide the day into 24 hours of 60 minutes each, and put 60 seconds in each minute? Where does the definition of a second come from? And who decides what clock shows the correct time? There’s clearly a lot of questions when it comes to time.

Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Season
Why trees look like rivers and also blood vessels and also lightning…
10:00
Why do the same, self-repeating patterns appear in trees, rivers, lightning, and even our bodies?
The Real (Weird) Way We See Numbers
15:25
Our animal brains deal with quantities in very specific, and fascinating, ways.
Computers Can Predict When You're Going to Die… Here's How
12:54
Can new technologies make death prediction even more accurate?
Can AI Help Us Talk to Whales?
21:33
AI may help us talk to whales soon. But should we?!
Measuring the Universe With a 14-Billion Light-Year Ruler
10:40
The cosmic distance ladder is the world’s longest ruler, built to measure the universe.
Why the 2024 Solar Eclipse is Such a Big Deal
15:17
On April 8, North America is getting a total solar eclipse. Here’s what you need to know.
Space is Full of Junk. Here’s How to Clean It Up…
12:09
Learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw named ClearSpace-1 that might
Why NASA Punched an Asteroid
14:28
These tiny pieces of an ancient asteroid could hold the secret to the origin of life.
Maybe We've Already Made First Contact…
10:28
What do scientists think are the best ways of reaching out to aliens?
I Don’t Know How to Feel About 2023
9:40
How bad is climate change in 2023? Can we do anything about it?
How Scientists Made the Hottest Thing Ever
13:38
A cosmic soup hadn’t existed in 13.8 billion years. Now, scientists cook it up in a lab.
Can a Billion Oysters Save New York City?
12:56
After a century of industrial pollution and superstorms, New York's waterways needs help!
Active loading indicator