A Million Years In A Day by Greg Jenner Summary
Overview of A Million Years In A Day
Ever wondered why we brush our teeth or why toilets flush? Greg Jenner's global journey through history reveals how our mundane Saturday rituals connect us to ancient Babylon and challenge the myth of linear human progress - making the ordinary extraordinary.
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Key takeaways
Your Morning Alarm Connects You to Ancient Egypt
The piercing sound of your alarm clock isn't just interrupting your sleep-it's connecting you to thousands of years of human ingenuity. That precise 7:00 AM wake-up call represents millennia of trial, error, and cultural compromise. What feels natural and universal-seconds ticking into minutes, minutes into hours-is actually an agreed-upon fiction developed through countless experiments across civilizations. Consider this: the word "day" itself creates confusion. English awkwardly uses one term for both sunlight hours and the full 24-hour cycle, while Dutch sensibly employs "Dag" for daylight and "Etmaal" for the complete rotation. Romans tried fixing this mess when Censorinus proposed "civil day" for 24 hours and "natural day" for sunlight, but seventh-century scholars reversed these definitions, leaving us with terminological chaos that persists in academic writing today. Our midnight-to-midnight day? That's ancient Egypt's doing. While Babylonians started their day at dusk and medieval Italians followed suit, we inherited the Egyptian practice of splitting existence into two 12-hour blocks. Even more remarkable: a 30,000-year-old eagle bone from France's Dordogne region bears notches tracking the moon's 14-day waxing cycle-possibly humanity's oldest calendar, proving our ancestors were obsessed with measuring time long before civilization emerged.
When Time Became Money and Lost Its Flexibility
The Throne Room's Surprisingly Sophisticated History
Breakfast Cereal, Moral Crusades, and the Milk Mutation
From Cave Symbols to Smartphones
The Stories We Wear on Our Bodies
Living History in Every Ordinary Moment
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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