4 ms·
> The holes all being different diameters would then relate to different sized candles being needed to last all night, for longer and shorter nights at differen
by krisoft 3y ago
> The holes all being different diameters would then relate to different sized candles being needed to last all night, for longer and shorter nights at different times of the year.
I don't know. There are stranger things of course, but why would you care about that? If you need light you just burn the candle until you no longer need the light. If it gets too short you get a new candle. If you no longer need light (for example because the sun has risen) you put it out.
Having a bunch of candles with different thicknesses, and a complicated and presumably expensive tool to measure them does not feel like the way to go forward.
- Loughla 3y agoCould still hold, though. Rich people need things to spend money on to indicate wealth and status. Arbitrarily difficult candle holder seems like it might check that box pretty well.
- bee_rider 3y agoCandles have been used as timers (stick a nail in a correctly sized candle and it’ll fall at the right time). But I heard of that in regards to the colonial era US, no idea how far back it goes. Edit: > The candle clock is an ancient technology. The first recorded reference was in 520 CE in a Chinese poem by You Jiangu. He described six uniform candles of equal weight and thickness—each 12 inches tall. https://mymodernmet.com/candle-clock-alarm/# https://mymodernmet.com/candle-clock-alarm/#