Matt Soniak
Why is 10:10 the Default Setting for Clocks and Watches?
by Matt Soniak - August 7, 2009 - 10:10 AM

Reader Humaira writes in, “I have always wondered why clocks, watches, timepieces etc. always say (roughly) 10:10 before you set the correct time? If you go in a store selling any kind of time-telling device, that is the default factory setting. Why is that?!!”

watches-1010

First things first, let’s get the myths out of the way. There are plenty of people out there who think that clocks in advertisements and in-store displays are set this way memorialize Abraham Lincoln/John F. Kennedy/Martin Luther King Jr. because that was the time at which they were shot or died. In reality, Lincoln was shot at 10:15 p.m., and died the next morning at 7:22 a.m., JFK was shot at 12:30 p.m. CST and was pronounced dead 1 p.m. and MLK was shot 6:01 p.m. and pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.

Another theory has it that 10:10 was the time that an atomic bomb was dropped on either Nagasaki or Hiroshima, and the setting is in memory of the casualties. The Fat Man bomb was actually dropped on the former at 11:02 a.m. local time and the Little Boy on the latter at 8:15 a.m. local time.

grandfather-clockThe real reason for the setting? Aesthetics. The 10:10 position gives the clock or watch a number of benefits:

• The hands not overlapping, so they’re fully and clearly visible and their styling can be admired.

• The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which people generally find more pleasant than asymmetry, making the product more appealing to customers.

• The manufacturer’s logo, usually in the center of the face under the 12, is not only visible, but nicely framed by the hands.

• Additional elements on the face (like date windows secondary dials), usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9, won’t be obscured.

According to the folks at Timex (who set their products at 10:09:36 exactly), the standard setting used to be used to 8:20, but this made the face look like it was frowning. To make the products look “happier,” the setting was flipped into a smile (occasionally, you’ll still see the 8:20 setting on some clocks or watches where the manufacturer’s logo is at bottom of the face above the 6).

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Comments (68)

  1. Thank you, Matt. I’ve always wondered about this exact topic.

    posted by Steve on 8-7-2009 at 10:10 am

  2. I had never heard the old wives tales about JFK and MLK or Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I always assumed they were set like this for aesthetics.

    In reality the fake answers seem more interesting. Even if they are not accurate I am going to tell that to people.

    posted by Witty Nickname on 8-7-2009 at 10:29 am

  3. Thank you so much Matt for answering my question! All the reasons make sense when I think about them, but I had no idea there were prevalent (false) theories about this question! :) Thanks once again!

    posted by Humaira on 8-7-2009 at 10:29 am

  4. You’d think that Movado would stray from the norm a little, seeing as how they have the freedom to on just about every watch face they produce.

    Then again, this gives new meaning to “wearing a watch.”

    posted by Steven on 8-7-2009 at 10:36 am

  5. I’m trying to figure out what sort of watch that is in the middle of the three pictured. It appears to have fast forward and rewind functions. I’m guessing its some sort of MP3 player since a watch wouldn’t be a great spot for a DVD player.

    posted by Dan on 8-7-2009 at 10:45 am

  6. Weird. We discussed subliminal messages in my 11th grade english class (SOOO long ago) and were told they set the watches to 10:10 to mimic a woman’s spread legs.

    I think I like this answer better.

    posted by melly on 8-7-2009 at 11:48 am

  7. I had always heard the explanation that since the watch has a “face” the hands are “smiling”. Framing the logo is also a good and highly plausible explanation.

    posted by AmyD on 8-7-2009 at 11:52 am

  8. @ dan

    There also appears to be a record feature. My guess would be that the watch can store a short voice memo.

    @ melly

    Gah! I am never going to be able to look at an analog watch the same way again!!!

    recaptcha: Bergdorf rank

    posted by Hastings on 8-7-2009 at 12:02 pm

  9. I’d never heard the ones about historical events before. I was always told that it made the watch look like it was smiling.

    posted by Tamahome Jenkins on 8-7-2009 at 12:35 pm

  10. My mom told me all of this a while ago (she is an experienced jeweler) and everything up there is stated correctly. I never heard of the symmetrical part, but it makes sense. Looking at a watch face, 3 might have a date, between 3 and 9 there might be other funtions of the watch, under 12 will be the brand, and more than likely that brand will stretch from 11 to 1. So there is no other place to put them, not to mention the positive image it gives when the hands are pointed upwards. (also, 80% of the population is right handed, so they make the longer hand on the right side to show dominance, that’s why it’s never 2:50).

    posted by Steven on 8-7-2009 at 4:00 pm

  11. I remember hearing about the “smiling face” as the reason for 10:10 a few years ago on some NBC news puff-piece.

    posted by Juliana on 8-7-2009 at 4:42 pm

  12. I always thought it was because it was the happiest time of the day I guess I was way of base at that.

    posted by Kari on 8-8-2009 at 9:49 pm

  13. 10:10 – DIAMONDS – wink! ( snickering WOMAN )

    posted by LADY A1 on 8-9-2009 at 3:26 pm

  14. cool! never even thought about that!

    posted by gv on 8-9-2009 at 3:29 pm

  15. Ya, 10:10 very symmetrical….too bad that minute hand is longer than the hour hand, ruins that symmetrical theory.

    posted by jojo on 8-9-2009 at 3:29 pm

  16. Just funny that when they teach you to Drive it is at 10:00 and 2:00 so maybe that is one reason they do it..

    posted by David Wood on 8-9-2009 at 3:31 pm

  17. Besides the above reasons, I also was told that setting a clock/watch to exactly 10:10:00 is good for having an very accurate movements standard. You can see when you set this to 10:10:00 whether or not the hour-hand or minute-hand are off to any visible degree from 10:10:00 on other watches/clocks.

    posted by aris on 8-9-2009 at 3:31 pm

  18. How about “V” for Victory? I like it.

    posted by John Ell on 8-9-2009 at 3:44 pm

  19. Congrats on getting front page on yahoo!

    posted by nikki on 8-9-2009 at 3:48 pm

  20. this is wrong, the reason why clocks are set to ten ten is because one time there was a rich jewish guy who was the owner of a watch company, and he was hiking and a boulder fell on him and broke his legs, so he had a tehilim in his pocket and he pulled it out and opened it to 10;10, then a group of people appeared from behind and helped him and then he made sure all the watches were set to ten ten to publisize the miricle that g-d did for him

    posted by aaron on 8-9-2009 at 3:49 pm

  21. If the clock is set at 10:10 then it looks like right symbol (correct symbol), it means that “this is a right choice for the customer”. It may be wrong, but this is my personal opinion.

    posted by Surajit Ghosh on 8-9-2009 at 3:50 pm

  22. Since none are set to 10:10 but somewhere between 10:05 and 10:09 , I say it’s a conspiracy and that it’s used as a memorial to the UFO crash in Roswell that happened between 10:05 and 10:09 or was it the time when the aliens were cut up and studied? I just can’t remember which one is was.

    posted by rocketman on 8-9-2009 at 3:50 pm

  23. Very cool! I never noticed it!

    Of course, with most people having digital watches – - if they haven’t abandoned them for their cell phone or blackberry, et al., displays – - it kinda makes one wonder if anybody really knows what time it is! ;)

    posted by skaizun on 8-9-2009 at 4:15 pm

  24. If you want to go one step farther with this, then why do you think a lot of digital timepieces show 10:08? I don’t know the answer for a fact but can provide one that makes sense. Numbers are displayed using a “7-segment” LED or LCD and 10:08 represents the absolute maximum number of segments in use (21) for a standard 12-hour timepiece. You may be tempted to believe that 8:08 would be more, but it only shows 20 segments in use.

    If anyone does know the true answer to this, I’d love to hear it.

    posted by EdJones on 8-9-2009 at 4:17 pm

  25. According to the pictures and facts from the Hiroshima after the bombing, it was about 10:10 that the city was destroyed by atomic bomb, here is the flow in your facts

    posted by D on 8-9-2009 at 4:30 pm

  26. You should have conferred with someone who is a little older. This question goes back much farther than JFK and MLK. Clocks and watches in photos and print ads used to be set to 8:20 (not to 10:10) for the reasons you list: aeshetics and advertising space. Check out old magazines and/or newspapers, and you’ll see that this is correct.

    P.S. “Steven” is incorrect about the left-handed population. The percentage of right-handed people is much closer to 90%.

    posted by Larry Lengle on 8-9-2009 at 4:51 pm

  27. Another clock-related question is, “Why do clock manufacturer’s use ‘IIII’ instead of the correct ‘IV’ for the Roman numeral for ’4′?”

    posted by Gecko on 8-9-2009 at 4:52 pm

  28. I thought I’d post the mathematical reason as well, if you’re interested in math or art, this is worth a read:

    The reason clock hands are set to this time is because of the number “phi”. Also called the “golden mean” or “divine proportion”, the number (roughly 1.618) is derived from the Fibonacci series, and it reflects an ideal proportion in nature.

    You get phi by going far into the Fibonacci series and taking one number, and dividing it by the previous number. (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…divide 13 by 8. If you go farther, you get closer to “phi”)

    Things that are constructed to reflect phi are more pleasing to the eye, because they divide an object into 2 sections that are like a 1/3 piece and 2/3 piece. Humans’ attraction to this ratio is somewhat inexplicable, but it’s influence on our perceptions of beauty are clear.

    Women who are successful in beauty pageants have remarkably been shown to reflect phi in their bodily proportions – divide the length from their navel to their toes, by the length from their navel to the top of their hand, and the number is phi (1.618). Divide the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, by the length from the center of the shoulder to the elbow. Also phi. Human fingers are also a treasure trove of phi – look at how the knuckles are proportional.

    The Greeks mastered phi, and many of their buildings were constructed with these proportions to be more aesthetically pleasing.

    In looking at this clock, take the surface area of the entire clock face, and divide it by the larger surface area that is not between the two hands. It should be around 1.618.

    posted by Katie on 8-9-2009 at 4:58 pm

  29. its also a check pattern,like nike

    posted by dragonhalls on 8-9-2009 at 5:45 pm

  30. That really is odd and neat. Growing up though I remember clocks being set to 12:08. Anyone else remember that or know what that one meant? Also, why the change from 12:08 to 10:10

    posted by Xiggie on 8-9-2009 at 5:50 pm

  31. Legs at 10 and 2. Think about it. That’s what I think about everytime I see a clock set to 10:10

    posted by Ballzworth on 8-9-2009 at 5:54 pm

  32. Dear Matt.,
    Quite amazing that people never think aobut it. I used to have this question in my mind from the day I strated learning to know the time.
    I remember that I asked somebody long time back why it is like this. I got a very satisfactory answers, which you have pointd.
    But, the last one which he pratically put it on the paper was it represent ‘RIGHT’, the answer which I liked most.

    posted by Basalath Bilgrami on 8-9-2009 at 5:57 pm

  33. i never knew the reasons,but i am remined of a bible verse that everytime i see 10:10,it’s john 10:10 the devil has come to kill,steal,and destroy,but,i the LORD have come to give life,and give it abundently,something i repeat everytime i see it.its very incouraging in this day and TIME…………………….timex

    posted by ginger on 8-9-2009 at 6:24 pm

  34. The info is very close. The real reason is that when Lincoln was shot at 10.15 The watch makers were provided a tax break if they advertized their watches showing the time to serve as a reminder when the dastardly act was comitted.

    Then it has become as the best way to advertize. As rightly pointed there are quite a few myths associated with this

    Great job

    posted by Pradeep on 8-9-2009 at 6:27 pm

  35. Interesting… The digital clocks show 12:08 on the package when you buy them. I imagine they use 12:08 because it showed the size and position of the numbers. Otherwise I’m just guessing…

    posted by Felicia on 8-9-2009 at 10:16 pm

  36. I think it’s just a ‘correct mark’ not related to any bomb or murder

    posted by titin on 8-9-2009 at 10:19 pm

  37. 1010 is the time when World War II ended.

    posted by Mohammed on 8-9-2009 at 10:21 pm

  38. Your article is incorrect regarding the information on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    posted by Tim on 8-9-2009 at 10:22 pm

  39. Cool! I never noticed it!

    posted by 娃娃 on 8-9-2009 at 10:43 pm

  40. This is totally random and only applicable to digital clocks, but 10:08 lights the most individual lines of all times. I noticed this as a child and used to think that 10:08 was the brightest time of the night because of all the digital clocks fully lit.

    posted by Pad on 8-9-2009 at 10:52 pm

  41. Nothing new !! Anyone can figure those reasons stated. In fact, there are 2 other reasons:

    10 is a perfect number too and the V is like “victory” for success in business.

    posted by stanley on 8-9-2009 at 11:06 pm

  42. cool article but one of the main simple reasons, other than these technical points shared, is that setting it this way makes the watch face look like it is smiling. a smiling face makes it more appealing for people to buy the watch.

    posted by just j on 8-9-2009 at 11:20 pm

  43. Interesting and informative.

    posted by John Tomasko on 8-9-2009 at 11:26 pm

  44. Thank you!!! Oh man, I’ve been wondering this for YEARS now, I’ve even gone so far as to start collecting watch advertisements from catalogues and newspapers and fliers (and internet!), so this has made my day!

    posted by WhiteKatsu on 8-10-2009 at 12:21 am

  45. Another reason for the aesthetic value of setting a clock to 10:10 is because the hands point to two corners of a golden rectangle that holds the golden ratio of 1.67. The golden ratio is found repeatedly in nature, including the human form. “Proportional” people usually have a height that is 1.67 times the height of their belly button. They have knuckles in their hand that are 1.67 times less the height of their fingers. The same proportion is found many more times in their face and body. Artists use this ratio to draw “golden rectangles” that hold the features of what they are drawing or what structures they are designing, to add aesthetic value. Playing cards, cereal boxes, windows, and greeting cards often have the width to length ratio of 1.67. The ratio is more appealing to the eye, because we see it so much in nature, and it looks “right” to us. Each year I show my students a page full of rectangles, with only one being a golden rectangle (with a width to length ratio of 1.67). I ask them to tell me which one they like the best, and usually more than half the class chooses the golden rectangle, without a conscious reason why. When a clock has the time of 10:10, the hands are pointing to the top corners of a golden rectangle. If you were to flip the hands down in the same position and connect the corners of the face where the hands point, you would have a golden rectangle. It’s not necessarily going to make a person buy that watch, but it may just unconsciously make the watch look just a smidge more appealing to the eye. Thanks, Pythagoras, for the insight into advertising.

    posted by Lauren on 8-10-2009 at 12:30 am

  46. actually 10:10 set means, he sound of
    voice like if you say loudly 10:10
    every body lisen the clock voice,
    if now 10 AM clock say TUN TUN , if
    11 AM clock say TUN TUN, if 12 PM clock say TUN TUN, that’s a reason to set all clok on that direction of all the world

    posted by vijay on 8-10-2009 at 12:47 am

  47. LOL what about digital watches and clocks? what about them my friend?

    posted by SkyHigh on 8-10-2009 at 12:47 am

  48. Been wondering about it for a long time. Thanks for the answer.

    posted by Toddy on 8-10-2009 at 1:05 am

  49. What about masons? either 10.10 or 08.20 could symbolize the compass (08.20) or the set square (10.10), interesting uh?…

    posted by SomeGuy90UY on 8-10-2009 at 1:09 am

  50. Mostly importantly, the hands will look like a “V” symbolizing victory.

    David
    A watch maker

    posted by David on 8-10-2009 at 1:19 am

  51. Mostly important, the hands will look like a “V” symbolizing victory.

    David
    A watch maker

    posted by David on 8-10-2009 at 1:20 am

  52. oh, i thought ‘tas because 10 meant “perfect” and 10:10 would have meant “twice perfect”…good for feng shui.

    thanks for the new info!
    :)

    posted by jed on 8-10-2009 at 1:22 am

  53. The exact time is 10:08:36.

    David

    posted by David on 8-10-2009 at 1:25 am

  54. The installation artwork by Ed Keinholz called \The Beanery\ is a stylized replica of \Barney’s Beanery\ in Los Angeles. In the installation all the life size characters have clocks for faces and the time is set to 10:10.

    This was supposed to symbolize the hours wasted drinking and smoking in a bar. Also, the time 10:10 made the hands look like eyebrows on the face.

    posted by Bill Schaeffer on 8-10-2009 at 1:45 am

  55. All like “tick” not “cross”.(When clock is at 10:10 look like “tick”).

    posted by BASHEER on 8-10-2009 at 1:53 am

  56. Now tell us readers how the phrase:

    “10 – 10″

    came about on CB radio.

    posted by paul on 8-10-2009 at 1:56 am

  57. Since many years ago, my children asked me why the watch/clock advertised in TV, news and etc in all over the world looks like at 10:10 ? I answered that time symbolize “Victory”. That i know so far and i got the “victory” reason from a friend of mine many years ago. So i have same idea with John Ell.

    posted by rian on 8-10-2009 at 1:56 am

  58. I wonder seeing this article. I thought it was the time on which the person who discovered the watch had died !! Is this no true ????

    posted by Raj on 8-10-2009 at 1:58 am

  59. Take a look at the masonic compass, then the tool under it, in some pictures that tool, if put on a clock, points to 10:10

    posted by Someone 111 on 8-10-2009 at 2:13 am

  60. More interestingly Paul (and more amusing), how about a 10-100?

    posted by Steven on 8-10-2009 at 9:19 am

  61. I’m not buying the symmetry angle – note that the second hand is (quite noticeably) off kilter in all these examples.

    posted by Peter Cooper on 8-10-2009 at 9:49 am

  62. the above reasons are true, i worked on catalogs for years and we always set our clocks and watched that way cause it looks nicer and doesnt block anything that may be on the face. during my tenure i was reading robert anton wilson’s “illuminatus trilogy” so for a while i made very watch or clock say “5:23″ hope that messed with some people. my bosses could care less at the time, and the client never mentioned it…

    posted by gnateye on 8-10-2009 at 5:05 pm

  63. and the article is even posted at 10:10 a.m. Very cute.

    posted by Sara on 8-11-2009 at 8:51 am

  64. There was an ad for Cartier watches at the bottom of the page when it loaded. The watch in the picture: set to 10:10.

    posted by C.A. on 9-5-2009 at 5:15 pm

  65. It’s to make the clocks appear that they’re smiling. It’s just a psychological tact, and it works.

    posted by Adam on 9-5-2009 at 6:26 pm

  66. Larry made my comment for me; I walked into a clock shop in the early 70′s and asked why they were all set at 8:20. The explanation was it gave the best sense of proportion and showed off the clock face to advantage as well as the manufacturer name. Not sure when it was flipped. Would be interesting to find out.

    posted by Aurora on 9-5-2009 at 10:18 pm

  67. Death of Lincoln, JFK and MLK at 10:10 sounds more interesting than reality..
    Do I love conspiracy theories or what! :P

    posted by Rizwan on 10-25-2010 at 4:33 am

  68. This question is still alive in 2011. Really admired your answers. Thanks.

    posted by abhi_India on 12-11-2011 at 12:04 pm

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