So today I wanted to figure out a simple thing: what time was it exactly 19 hours ago? I know it sounds easy, but I wanted to make sure I got it right, step by step, just in case anyone else finds it confusing.
First, I checked the current time
I looked at the clock on my computer. It said 3:00 PM. Okay, that’s my starting point. Now I need to go back 19 hours from here.
Breaking it down into smaller chunks
19 hours is a lot to subtract all at once, so I decided to break it into parts. First, I thought, let’s go back a full day, which is 24 hours. But 24 hours is more than 19, so that’s too far back. Then I realized I should just go back 19 hours directly, but carefully.
I started counting back hour by hour in my head:
- From 3:00 PM, one hour back is 2:00 PM… no, that’s wrong. I mean, 2:00 PM is only one hour back. I need to go back much further.
- So I decided to subtract 12 hours first. 3:00 PM minus 12 hours is 3:00 AM. Okay, that’s progress. I’ve accounted for 12 hours.
- Now I still have 7 more hours to subtract (because 12 + 7 = 19). So from 3:00 AM, I need to go back another 7 hours.
Subtracting the remaining hours
From 3:00 AM, going back one hour at a time:
- 2:00 AM (1 hour back)
- 1:00 AM (2 hours back)
- 12:00 Midnight (3 hours back)
- 11:00 PM (4 hours back)
- 10:00 PM (5 hours back)
- 9:00 PM (6 hours back)
- 8:00 PM (7 hours back)
So, 3:00 AM minus 7 hours takes me to 8:00 PM of the previous day.
Double-checking my work
I wanted to make sure I didn’t mess up. I calculated the total time elapsed from 8:00 PM to 3:00 PM the next day.
- From 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM is 4 hours.
- From 12:00 AM to 3:00 PM is 15 hours (since 3:00 PM is 15 hours after midnight).
- So 4 hours + 15 hours = 19 hours. Perfect, it checks out.
Final answer: If it’s 3:00 PM now, then 19 hours ago was 8:00 PM yesterday. I know it seems straightforward now, but breaking it down step by step really helped me avoid mistakes. Hope this helps if you’re ever trying to do the same thing!