Given that there are 24 hours in a day, who decided the clock should only have a 12 hour rotation, and not a 24 one, and why?

rxbigdawg

According to wikipedia the 12 hour clock can be traced back to Mesopotamia and Egypt and possibly India. No citation is given for this however. I do know that the Babylonians were the ones responsible for the 60 minute hour and 60 second minute. They are also responsible for the 360 degrees in a circle. If I find anymore definitive dating on the orgin of the 12 hour clock I'll post it. Interestingly it appears that the US and Canada are some of the only countries left that still use the 12 hour clock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12-hour_clock NOTE: See above link for partial list of countries that use just the 12 hour clock and those who use both. [Note added -- Zbeck] Apr 01 08, 10:49 AM