Trivia
HardIV Is The Roman Numeral Designation For 4 Everywhere But…?
Answer: On Clock Faces
Roman numerals are placed from left to right, in order of value, starting with the largest numeral first. In cases where this would yield four characters in succession (such as the transition from III for 3 to IIII for 4) the traditional method is to use subtractive notation where in the 4 is represented as IV (or 1 subtracted from 5).
The only place you’ll find the rule broken is on clock faces. The traditional arrangement on a clock face whose numbers are designated with Roman numerals is to display the 4 as IIII. While this tradition cannot be traced to a single moment in history, a wide variety of events conspired to make IIII the most popular designation.
The the Wells Cathedral Clock (one of the earliest surviving mechanical clock towers) featured IIII (most likely taken from the enumeration systems of contemporary manuscripts). King Louis the XIV of France preferred his clocks with the IIII and he ordered all his clock makers to build the clocks in such a fashion. Further, using IIII instead of IV creates a pleasing visual symmetry with the opposing VIII (8 O’Clock). Practically speaking, however, the most likely source of the deviation is the clockmakers themselves–using IIII in place of IV requires fewer molds for the numerals.
Trivia
EasyWhat American Sport Can Trace Its Roots Directly Back To The Prohibition Era?
Trivia
HardThe Best Selling Computer Game Of The 1990s Was?
Trivia
HardThe First Host Of Saturday Night Live Was?
Trivia
HardThe Largest Terrestrial Biome On Earth Is The?
Trivia
Very HardWhich Video Game Was Turned Into A Movie And Then Back Into A Video Game?
Trivia
EasyIf You Suffer From Prosopagnosia You Are Unable To See What?
Trivia
HardWhich Cartoon Character Has A Huge Cult Following In Germany?
Trivia
HardWho Performed Darth Vader’s Iconic Light Saber Duels?
Trivia
HardWhich Country Has The Most Authors Per Capita?
Trivia
Very HardThe Name Of The Most Popular Supercomputer Job Scheduler In The World Is A Nod To?