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this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts
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The oldest known writing system (Mesopotamia, I think but not sure) is base 60 and by and large influences calendars, degrees, etc today so I wouldn't preclude the possibility of an alternate timeline where this could happen based on historical factors alone
“Hundred” in Germanic Europe used to be 120 before the Romans came and introduced their “century” with a value of 100. This is still known as “the long hundred”
12, 60, 120, 360 are the first superior highly composite numbers. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_highly_composite_number
These number divides neatly into integer parts in many ways for their size.
They are also the basis of many pre decimal counting systems, some of which are still around. 360 degrees in a circle. 12 hours in a day.
The Babylonian’s used base 60. We still do for time as you pointed out. The minute refers to a minute(as in small) part of something. The “second” is the “second minute”. Ie a minute divided into minutes. This system is also used for geodetic cordinates. Where we have arc minutes and seconds.