THE DIVISION of the hour into 60 minutes and of the minute into 60 seconds comes from the Babylonians who used a sexagesimal (counting in 60s) system for mathematics and astronomy. They derived their number system from the Sumerians who were using it as early as 3500 BC.
Just so, how is base 60 used for measuring longitude and latitude?
There are 360° of longitude (180° E ↔ 180° W) and 180° of latitude (90° N ↔ 90° S). Each minute can be divided into 60 seconds (”). For finer accuracy, fractions of seconds given by a decimal point are used. A base-sixty notation is called a sexagesimal notation.
What did they do for fun in Mesopotamia?
As the cities of Mesopotamia grew wealthy, there were more resources and free time for people to enjoy entertainment. They enjoyed music at festivals including drums, lyres, flutes, and harps. They also enjoyed sports such as boxing and wrestling as well as board games and games of chance using dice.
Why is it 360 degrees in a circle?
That's how we got a 360 degree circle. Around 1500 BC, Egyptians divided the day into 24 hours, though the hours varied with the seasons originally. Greek astronomers made the hours equal. About 300 to 100 BC, the Babylonians subdivided the hour into base-60 fractions: 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.