Eli5 why is time measured in base 12 and 60 when we generally use base 10 for everything else?

Question

Eli5 why is time measured in base 12 and 60 when we generally use base 10 for everything else?

In: Other

Answer 1

It’s based on the number system of the babylonians. They did everything in base 12, because it was a holy number, and also because they didn’t count fingers, they counted finger-joints but not on the thumb, so one hand could count to 12

The 60 minutes came later (roman times) but were chosen because it’s a multiple of 12