Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Like you could do any better.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                 

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

This Time In History Watch (or app)

The "This Day In History Calendar" taken to the next level
  (+10)(+10)
(+10)
  [vote for,
against]

Your watch says "Dec 7, 7:53 AM" A little screen below the time says "First wave of Japanese planes drop their bombs on targets in Pearl Harbor starting WW2 for the U.S."

Jul 20, 9:56, "Neil Armstrong sets foot on the Moon."

Would sort of put you in touch with history on a different level. "Hmm, I would have thought they would do the first human walking on the Moon in prime time. That was actually pretty late."

Of all the ideas on the Halfbakery, this is definitely one of them.

doctorremulac3, Jan 30 2016

[link]






       With a smartwatch linked to a phone by Bluetooth, and an app linked to Wikipedia's "On this day ..." page, this is completely bakeable.   

       The only surprise is that it hasn't been done already.
8th of 7, Jan 30 2016
  

       That 9:56 time was relative to the US East Coast, and west of there, the time was prime time, 6:56 on the West Coast.
Vernon, Jan 30 2016
  

       I think this is brilliant.   

       Also, given that fewer people wear watches these days, it could be a smartphone app too.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 30 2016
  

       Yes, we said that already.
8th of 7, Jan 30 2016
  

       For the real geek, it does not show the actual time, only the historical event(s).
pocmloc, Jan 30 2016
  

       Or for the MEGA geek is just says "July 20th, 9:56. Do you know what happened 46 years ago at this time?"   

       These would be mostly recent time based historical trivia facts because even with the advent of clocks, I'm not sure people noted exact times of events much. We probably know the exact time Lincoln was shot but Caesar's assassination time would be wild speculation. They had sundials I guess. "He's dead. Longinus, run outside and check the sundial to mark the time."
doctorremulac3, Jan 30 2016
  

       // Caesar's assassination time would be wild speculation. //   

       The Romans had water clocks (using a constant-pressure feed system) and several other acceptably efficient timekeeping technologies.
8th of 7, Jan 30 2016
  

       I would think burying a sundial in volcanic mud or dust would be a very quick and effective way of stopping it from functioning.
pocmloc, Jan 30 2016
  

       Not sure placing all that text on a watch is such a good idea. Might be difficult to read. An app on a phone...definitely. But are you allowed to read it ...be it watch or phone ...whilst driving?
brindles, Jan 30 2016
  

       Could be an app on your desktop or laptop as well. Just up there in the corner by the volume, signal indicators etc.
doctorremulac3, Jan 30 2016
  

       It would default to local time of the event since you're trying to get a sense of when these things happened. If you've got an event in China that happened at midnight you loose the sense of being there if it's 12 noon your time. So you'd have the local time from where the event happened, location of the event, description of the event, and how many years ago the event happened.   

       So everybody would see the same thing for this entry at 11:40 PM their time:   

       "11:40 p.m. / 375 miles south of Newfoundland / The RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to take water./ 103 years ago.   

       Space events like the Moon landing would be shown at the local time of the viewer when the event happened.
doctorremulac3, Jan 31 2016
  

       Don't you think the watch should also have a GPS so that it can tell you about things that happened in the specific place where you are? That would encourage a greater appreciation of the local heritage and culture.
pocmloc, Jan 31 2016
  

       Yes.
doctorremulac3, Jan 31 2016
  

       //encourage a greater appreciation of the local heritage and culture.// You say that as if it's a good thing.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 31 2016
  

       Nice idea and easy to implement too. Everybody sees time with their smartphones today... (and smartwatches are just a subset)   

       //as if its a good thing...
Why Max, what's yours?
pashute, Feb 01 2016
  

       Mine's a large one. Cheers.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 01 2016
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle