Time is forever and it keeps moving. But, when was the first time that humans thought of measuring time?

Almost 7000yrs ago, the Hindus (Aryan Civilization) gazed at the sky and measured the time by looking at the position of stars or the Sun.

The Egyptians thought of measuring time 6000 years ago. They used sundials or Solar clocks ( eco-friendly huh!) based on the meridian line which represents the north to south direction of a place. This line is determined by the shortest shadow cast by a vertical arm on the background lit by the sun. The meridian line indicates noon time. You can still see some sundials in front of old buildings.

Then came the hourglass using sand and water and two glass sections having a neck in between. The sand or the water flows from the upper section and by looking at the level of water in the two sections people could make out how much time has passed. While it is called an hour glass, it does not measure in units of an hour.

These two were not very practical as the sundials did not work when there was no Sun and the hourglass needed to be overturned so many times. No wonder someone thought of building the clocks as we know them.

The clocks that we use today, when did they first appear? A clock is an instrument that keeps track of time. When did it first appear? Well, it appeared somewhere only in the middle of 16th century.  Pendulum clock was the first clock. A famous inventor, Galileo invented the pendulum clock. Pocket watches with a balance wheel and spring came next. Since then there has been no looking back. Today, the International Atomic Time, kept by 300 atomic clocks around the world, keeps earth’s time to within microseconds of accuracy of solar time.

Clocks have changed, times have changed but one thing that still is the same. Swiss clocks are the best. The first clock making industry was set up in Switzerland by French and Italian refugees. By the end of the sixteenth century, the chiming clocks adorned the churches and town halls. People woke up to the sounds of these clocks. Before the advent of these clocks, the church bells were rung by the people who read the time from the sundials.

So you can measure time, enjoy time, use time but never waste it :))