Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds.<p>I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
I know this is kind of tangent to the point, but:<p>> the mechanical oscillator that makes the watch advance (it drives the pallet fork and escapement wheel, which produces the ticking sound)<p>The balance wheel doesn't drive the escape wheel, it's the other way around! The mainspring powers the train, which eventually drives the escape wheel, and the escape wheel provides energy to the balance wheel via the pallet fork.<p>(If you think about it, it's obvious that it couldn't be the other way around, else the watch would stop very quickly as the balance wheel runs out of energy).<p>The pallet fork is driven by both the escape wheel <i>and</i> the balance wheel, at different points in the cycle.
I know most people here don't care for it, but for those who like it, I produced this chart of the conversation:<p><a href="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/Chartodon/111142286901955845.svg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.solipsys.co.uk/Chartodon/111142286901955845.svg</a><p>Added in edit: Click on a node to open the original post.
Required site visit which also explains this feature:<p><a href="https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/</a>
>So, there was great interest in developing a timekeeping mechanism that didn't rely on gravity.<p>"Great interest" is an understatement! The full story can be found in "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" by Dava Sobel<p>Cheap book, quick read, fascinating story!<p><a href="https://amzn.to/465h1ij" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://amzn.to/465h1ij</a>
Japanese railway workers in 60's and 70's were issued the Citizen Homer Second Setting. It's big feature was hacking seconds (<a href="https://www.fratellowatches.com/citizen-homer-second-setting-affordable-vintage-watch/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.fratellowatches.com/citizen-homer-second-setting...</a>). I'm fortunate to own one of these.
For anyone interested in the history of chronometers, I can recommend visiting the exhibition at Greenwich Observatory, as they have the collection of original Harrison's clocks, which lead to the development of the chronometer in it's modern form. The earlier H1/H2 clocks are awesome.<p><a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/harrisons-clocks-longitude-problem" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/harrisons-clocks-longit...</a>
Somewhat related, I came across a YouTube channel (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival">https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival</a>) that I never would have guessed I'd enjoy but now I am hooked. The host disassembles a high-end mechanical watch each episode, cleans each tiny piece and then puts it all back together again.<p>I have never had any interest in mechanical watches whatsoever - I use an Apple Watch - but this is so relaxing and he is so good at sharing his extensive knowledge that I find myself immersed in his world for an hour or so each week.<p>I know this reads like a schill but I promise I have no connection other being a happy viewer.
There's an acronym in lexicography that I can't remember right now, but the effect of it is that people try to ascribe a nautical origin to everything. I worry this might be a little of that, but it's a fun story regardless.
I manually compiled the tweets for readability:<p><a href="https://pastebin.com/raw/dTGJS3Se" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://pastebin.com/raw/dTGJS3Se</a><p>is there a threadreader equivalent for mastodon?
For more uses of the word "hack":<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack</a>
> In war films, if you ever wondered what a bunch of soldiers standing in a circle shouting "hack!" at each other meant: they're synchronizing their watches.<p>Said no one before ever.<p>For that matter, no group of soldiers ever cried out "hack" while setting their watches in a war movie, either.<p>Is the entire thing made up?
One might well ask why "Hackneyed" has it's meaning of commonplace.. And if you do, you will see that Hackneyed comes from a "Hack" horse, the commonplace (often hired) horse you use for more ordinary riding tasks, you don't care if its a bit spavined or mouthed, it's not your best hunter.<p>In other words Hack -> Hackney -> Hack<p>A Hacking jacket likewise: its workday hard wearing cloth like Tweed. undied or dull dye.