Eli5 why is time measured in base 12 and 60 when we generally use base 10 for everything else?
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The metric system was invented in the 1790’s, and we still have many things that follow older traditional units of measurement or units of counting. Donuts are still sold by the dozen. Many people in the UK refer to weight by stone instead of pounds or kg.
Base 12 has been in use for thousands of years, we’ll never now for sure why since it predates recorded history. Base 12 is easy to count on your fingers. Using your thumb as a pointer and counter your finger segments allows easy counting to 12 on on hand, and 12 to the power of 2 lets you easily count up to a gross with both hands.
12 is easier to make division, it divides easily into both quarters and thirds without requiring fractions or decimals (neither fractions nor decimals would be invented for quite some time)
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