Q: Years ago, every new clock for sale in a store was set for 8:20. I understand that was the time Abraham Lincoln was shot. Now all new clocks in stores are set for 10:10. Why?
—Killian Smith, Decatur
A: Watch and clock makers and their advertisers set the hands at 10:10 to help draw the consumers' attention to the name of the brand (Rolex, TAG Heuer, etc.) and logos, which usually are situated on the upper half of the face, underneath the 12. "It's almost like an unwritten rule that everyone understands to photograph a watch at 10:10," an executive at watch company Tourneau told the New York Times.
A Swatch spokesman said 10:10 makes the watches seem as they’re smiling, “instead of a sad man’s face.” Some companies are even more specific. Rolex sets its watches at 10:10:31 and Timex sets its at 10:09:36, using the second hand to accentuate secondary features.
Companies began setting hands at 10:10 in the 1920s, the article stated, before which they often were set at 8:20. That makes the watch or clock seem like its frowning, but left room for advertising on the face, especially if a company or shop used a watch shaped sign in front of its business. Legend connected 8:20 with the time that President Lincoln was shot or died, but John Wilkes Booth shot him at about 10:15 p.m. and he died at 7:22 the next morning.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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