What is base sixty?

Have you ever looked at a ticking clock and wondered: why are there 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour? Why not a nice, tidy 100? Get ready to travel back in time almost 4,000 years to ancient Iraq to uncover a time-telling mystery hiding in plain sight! Join Mira and Finn as they explore the mind-blowing math of the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians. Instead of counting by tens like we usually do, these ancient astronomers counted in Base Sixty! But why did they pick such a giant number? Because sixty is the friendliest number ever! It can be perfectly shared into halves, thirds, quarters, and so much more without anyone getting a weird half-slice. You'll learn how the Babylonians wrote all their numbers on soft clay tablets using just two simple shapes, and discover a secret way to count to sixty using just your finger joints! The next time you watch a microwave timer count down, you'll know you are using an ancient magic called Sexagesimal!