Alphabe Thursday … E is for Egg Timer

This little egg timer has remained on my shelf unnoticed until recently when I began writing smallstones which are little poems of the moment.  It is a skill I have yet to perfect as you can tell … what starts as a meaningful little snippet ends up as a big chunk of … here I am trying not to say waffle; but a big heap of little stones.  Just look closely at a egg timer and wonder 

It was the Egyptians who created the 24 hour day.  The night was divided into 12 hours governed  by the stars in the sky.  The day was split into 10 hours; when a shadow clock was used.  Leaving the twilight hours before dawn and after sunset.  It was believed that the Ancient Chinese, Greeks, Romans and Babylonians were also using time telling instruments.  Sundials were also used; but these had to be adapted when people realised that the sun rose and set at different times in summer and winter.  Also the sun did not always take the same course.  Of course sundials only worked during the day; at night it was not always convenient to ‘pop out’ to look at the stars to establish the time.

So an alternative was invented by an Egyptian prince who devised a water clock for the king using a complex system with a bucket and a conveniently place a hole in the bottom and marked with lines. This was not reliable as the water flow was not always consistent. Sand was considered more reliable and the hourglass was invented and continues to be used to this day.