Why is it that Americans refer to 24 hour time as military time? I understand that the military uses the 24hr format but I don’t understand why the general public would refer to it like that?

It makes it seem like it’s a foreign concept where as in a lot of countries it’s the norm.

  • MudMan@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Wait, how would you know whether migrants use the 24 hour clock?

    You’re not supposed to say “we meet at fifteen thirty”, you just say half past three or, in non-English languages sometimes “three in the afternoon”.

    You only write it as 24 hours because it saves you having to add extra letters to solve the ambiguity. When I interact with Americans I also write “three PM”, it’s just being polite.

    • 📛Maven@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      You’re not supposed to say “we meet at fifteen thirty”, you just say half past three or, in non-English languages sometimes “three in the afternoon”.

      Uh, why not? Absolutely you can say “half past 15 hours”, and plenty of places do.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I have all my clocks and watches set to 24h like a normal person and I’ve never heard a human being say that out loud or said it myself.

        Outside of American movies featuring the military, I suppose, which answers the OP’s question.