Fun Facts
Tools of Timekeeping:
A Kid's Guide to the History & Science of Telling Time

In ancient China, messenger boys would place lit incense sticks between their toes as alarm clocks.

Queen Elizabeth I had a ring watch that scratched her finger like an alarm at certain times of the day.

The Gregorian calendar was created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, but wasn’t adopted by China until 1949.

Benjamin Franklin first proposed a national daylight savings time back in 1784, but it wasn’t adopted until 1916.

Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity (the ability of quartz crystals to carry an electric current), which helped create quartz clocks.

Marie Curie kept a small pile of radium next to her bed because she liked the way it glowed at night.

The 1964 Olympics was the first time an electronic touch pad was used in a swimming competition.

The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978 and the final one was launched in 1993. Each satellite weighs 1,900 lbs and carries four atomic clocks.

J. William Cupp, a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University, has proposed a metric time system of 25-hour days that consists of 100 second minutes and 100 minute hours.