Time is something that is very important to people and their activities.  Much of it is spent for work or earning a living. Some people also value time spent with loved ones and family members.  Many people’s actions are based on time. Some things need to be done at specified time periods while other activities are scheduled at special times of day or days of the week.   The following are some facts related to time:

Fact 1:  Time is considered by scientists as the fourth dimension.  Most people may only be aware of having three dimensions when referring to objects in space. Whether an object is moved to the left or right or from top to bottom for example, this involves only the three dimensions.  When time is included, it points out the location of the object in time.

Fact 2:  The so-called leap year occurs every 4 years with 1 day added to the usual 365 calendar days.  The extra day is needed to compensate for the inexact rotation of the Earth.  Every 4 years, 1 full day or 24 hours is added in February to align time to a more accurate record.

Fact 3:  The philosopher Galileo was the one who invented the pendulums.  Pendulums were used in the past to give a more accurate measurement of time.

Fact 4:  Time first existed only after the big bang theory. For many scientists, before the universe became what it is today, there is no concept of time and it only existed with the so-called big bang.

Fact 5:  Time is literally getting longer.  This simply translates to longer days.  With the tidal friction that occurs between the moon and the sun, an additional 1.7 milliseconds is added for every century.

Fact 6:  The perception of time is one main consideration in the design of elevators.  The mirrors installed inside elevators are not only there for aesthetic purposes.  These mirrors are strategically placed to distract people from perceiving time and therefore make the elevator ride seem “shorter”.

Fact 7:  In the past, the Soviet Union experimented with a week that is composed of only 5 or 6 days instead of the standard 7.  The purpose of which is to take away the weekends and let people concentrate on the 5 or 6-day work-week.  This project was deemed a failure and the country went back to the widely accepted 7-day week.

Fact 8:  The International Fixed Calendar back in 1859 had 13 months instead of 12.  The extra month was named Sol and this was an invention of Moses B. Cotworth.

Fact 9:  Some crops are known to grow better at specific times or periods of the year.  Various fruits and vegetables for example grow best at special times or seasons and this is the reason why farmers make schedules based on time for better yields.

Fact 10:  The calendar created by Julius Cesar was actually a bit too long.  In his computation, the year was fixed at 365.25 days and this made it longer than it actually is.  By 1582, the longer Julian calendar resulted to 10 more days which had to be removed by Pope Gregory XIII.