They don't OWN it!!

This is the least important of the promised posts kicking around in my head, so it goes first!

The other day, our office was all in a dither over the need for a clock that has "military time" on it. Apparently, times must be recorded in the 24-hour clock for our studies. Wait, did you see what I did there? I called it the 24-hour clock, instead of "military time". Why, one might ask, would I do such a thing? Because that is what it is called!! Believe it or not, the military does not own the 24-hour clock. In some countries, everyone uses the 24-hour clock. Even civilians! Amazing!

What is more amazing to me about this little scenario is that we do not attribute everything the military uses to the military. For instance, while people often wear camouflaged clothing, I do not believe I have ever heard an adult refer to them as "military clothes", even though the military wears such things. Medals are given as prizes at various academic, athletic, or scouting events, yet never does the announcer say, "And now for the military awards ceremony!" Why? Because the military does not own all medals! They have no copyright over them!! People go to gun shows, not military weapon shows. The military uses computers, yet I never ask my husband to turn off the piece of military technology. And so on.

Now while I proudly claim my title of "stickler" (thank you, Lynne Truss), I am not usually this anal about things. But this one bugged me.

And the time now is? 19:25!