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.

  • SSTF@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    By the book, you’re right. No colon when written, and if the last two digits aren’t “00” they are supposed to be pronounced individually.

    4:45pm = 1645 = “Sixteen Four Five hours”. (Or “Fooor fife” if you’re a pedant about radios.)

    That’s all well and good trivia, in practice it’s usually said “Sixteen forty five” because yeah ain’t nobody got time for all that.

    • litchralee@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      As a fairly-new ham radio operator, I need to improve my numbers pronunciation so maybe I’ll start reading the time like that and see how other people react.

      Already, I get a number of confused-then-resigned looks when saying “sixteen o’clock” haha