For the most part, AM and PM are used in English speaking countries.

Most (but not all) other places use the 24 hour format.

People call it 'military time' but it's not. The US Army didn't adopt it until July of 1942 whereas it had been used for centuries beforehand by seagoing navigators and others.

Stateside it's commonly used in the transportation and medical industries to prevent ambiguity.

I started using it as a kid, long before I entered the service and afterwards when digital watches came out I set them up in a 24 hour format and ran with that. It proved to be very helpful when I lived in Alaska because summer days there is little darkness. 

I had an inexpensive analog watch on and one time when I took a quick nap I thought I had crashed out hard when I woke up and looked at my watch and went to work 12 hours too early. I picked up a Casio, set it to a 24 hour format and never looked back. Now I just get a Timex Expedition and set it to the 24 hour format.

Later I gave a Casio to a Japanese fish buyer and he was never seen again without it but that's another story.

For my entire career all times were logged in the 24 hour format, based on local time. It was second nature and I got so used to it that if you asked me the time I'd spit it out in the 24 hour format as often as not.

I did that once at a party to some woman that was bragging about being a 'world traveler' and she got snitty with me and said something about 'not understanding that military crap'.

In a contrite tone of voice I politely explained to her that I was trying to make her feel comfortable as she was such a world traveler and certainly she must know that the 12 hour format was only used in the English speaking world.

She walked off with smoke pouring out of her ears and my hostess who had heard every word of it smirking.

I suppose like everyone else in this day and age I use my cell phone to check the time but it's set on 24 hour format. I do still wear a watch to sleep with, though. 

It's a Timex Expedition Indiglo and when I wake up in the middle of the night I don't have to deal with a recharging phone or a light to see if I should roll over or turn off the CPAP and get up. 

 

  

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY