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The Sundial Cannon of Åtvidaberg (2017)
In the not-too-distant past, before the invention of modern timekeeping devices, noontime —the moment when the sun is at the highest position in the sky— held special significance. Unlike other cues like the rising and setting of the sun, or the moon, or the stars, whose time changes from day to day throughout the year, the elapsed time from noon of one day to the noon of the next is almost exactly 24 hours, irrespective of the time of the year.
In the not-too-distant past, before the invention of modern timekeeping devices, noontime —the moment when the sun is at the highest position in the sky— held special significance. Often harbors would announce noon by firing guns and cannons, or by dropping time balls, so that ships could readjust their clocks before they went away to sea. A small brass cannon mounted on a marble sundial base, manufactured by Rousseau of Paris.
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