Why is NZ still using the 12 hour clock?

Forums › Off topic › Why is NZ still using the 12 hour clock?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

ubernoob

576 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1332272 26-Jun-2015 17:10

floydbloke:
tstone:
MikeB4: I really don't see what the issue is.

I vote for this comment to be the 'answer'. Surely the majority are intelligent enough to cope with both methods of telling time so what's the issue here?

This is the Off-Topic forum. Chances are that a large percentage of threads are irrelevant to a large number of people.

Personally if I'm browsing through the threads and come across one that doesn't interest me I typically stop reading and don't bother posting in it. I just hit the back button instead.

The trick is to remember, that there is no spoon.. and the Matrix has you no matter the time

JWR

821 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1332282 26-Jun-2015 17:48

gzt: I see no evidence that 12 or 24 in the Uk is a government mandated thing. Is it?

Also referring to 12 hour time as the American system. Babylonians might have something to say about that ; )

They might.. if they weren't all dead:)

gzt

17149 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1332485 27-Jun-2015 00:13

Babylon is just 52 miles south of Baghdad so be prepared for modern day Iraqis to disagree with you on that one. ; ).

r055b

25 posts

Geek

#1332602 27-Jun-2015 15:39

The one case I find the 12 hour clock particularly annoying are the times printed on Air New Zealand eTickets. The AM or PM is even printed below the time so the chances of missing it are increased. 11:30 (with a PM printed below) is far less clear than printing 23:50 imo.

I have had a case of forwarding an eTicket to a transport provider who didn’t see the PM and I was left waiting.

gzt

17149 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1332604 27-Jun-2015 16:19

Again bad design is the problem (Ignoring all kinds of legacy stuff) but this is a problem that printing in 24 hour time format instantly solves.

But I'm guessing the reason they use this format (and the problem which may occur on change) is customers booked on a 1710 flight turning up at 7.10pm.

Still no answer here on how this change came about in the uk. Maybe the Uk has a higher proportion of ex-service in the general population with very little patience for civilian life ; ).

lNomNoml

1807 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1332606 27-Jun-2015 16:34

Didn't even know countries were set to use one, I thought you just use what ever format you want, the dd/mm/yyy thing I knew about though.

gzt

17149 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1332664 27-Jun-2015 17:40

Yeah I don't think they are. Might be wrong tho.

Key question: What happens if you set your windows regional setting to UK? ; ).

Edit: Wikipedia says you get 24 hour format by default on uk setting

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

dwl

371 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1332720 27-Jun-2015 19:10

r055b: The one case I find the 12 hour clock particularly annoying are the times printed on Air New Zealand eTickets. The AM or PM is even printed below the time so the chances of missing it are increased. 11:30 (with a PM printed below) is far less clear than printing 23:50 imo.

I have had a case of forwarding an eTicket to a transport provider who didn’t see the PM and I was left waiting.

This is a good example and I appreciate the topic being raised.

The UK seems very heavily aligned to 24 hour for transport with an example being Directory of Bus Timetables: Summary of Use of the 24 hour Clock. Different mindset has been developed there - from Wikipedia 24 hour clock "In 2005, BBC Weather television forecasts used the 12-hour notation for several months after its graphical revamp. After complaints from the public, however, this was switched to 24-hour notation."

I think 24 hour makes more sense but the problem we have is NZ seems quite entrenched with the 12 hour. I can't see that a change to items like train timetables here could be made without cries of pain. While a very sensible idea, may need to leave it at 12 hour and wonder why others managed to make the change (British Rail and London transport changed in 1964) and we got left behind.

jeffnz

2870 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1332730 27-Jun-2015 19:30

Coming from a military background I use the 24 hour format on all my devices but don't have an issue using 12 hour method nor do I see any major reason to change it.

Galaxy S10

Garmin Fenix 5

tstone

382 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1333184 29-Jun-2015 09:51

floydbloke:
tstone:
MikeB4: I really don't see what the issue is.

I vote for this comment to be the 'answer'. Surely the majority are intelligent enough to cope with both methods of telling time so what's the issue here?

This is the Off-Topic forum. Chances are that a large percentage of threads are irrelevant to a large number of people.

Personally if I'm browsing through the threads and come across one that doesn't interest me I typically stop reading and don't bother posting in it. I just hit the back button instead.

Stop trying to put 'words in my mouth' please. Where did I say it's not interesting? I was simply trying to ask what the problem is with the topic 'Why is NZ still using the 12 hour clock?' There has been some interesting feedback and comments relating to readers' confusion about not having military time on everything but most people seem to be able to resolve this confusion using their intelligence. Why are you telling me to stop reading this thread?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7