Archive for hourglass sand timers

The extensive history of sand timers being used in games is well-documented on the internet. However most people do not know very much about the origins of sand timers as they relate to games. The first known instance of a sand timer being used in a game has never actually been documented. However some people date sand timers to 1380 when requests for Hour Glasses started showing up on shopping lists for ships.

An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand watch, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated trickle of material (historically sand) from the upper bulb to the lower one. Factors affecting the time interval measured include sand quantity, sand coarseness, bulb size, and neck width. Hourglasses may be reused indefinitely by inverting the bulbs once the upper bulb is empty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hourglass