Baseball, romance, numbers... bases are everywhere!

Why do we use bases?

Bases give us an easy way to keep track of the larger picture, whether the larger picture is a goal in baseball games or a goal in romantic relationships.

Similarly, bases help us keep track of large numbers.

Different cultures use different bases for counting numbers.

Our culture counts in base 10 by using ones, tens and hundreds.
Legend has it that we chose to use base 10, because we have ten fingers for easy counting!

More impressively, the ancient Babylonians count in base 60 (sexagesimal) by using the three knuckles on each finger of one hand to count to 12, and the fingers on another hand to remember how many twelves they counted.

The Babylonians are responsible for why we use 60 seconds in a minutes and 60 minutes in an hour.