For some reason (mainly due to my nerdy friend Mike, to whom I’m forever grateful), I got my ham radio license when I was twelve. Back in the Morse code days. I believe we had to show we could send/receive 25 characters per minute. My parents got me a shortwave receiver as a gift for passing the exam. It was a Radio Shack set, and it was badass. I listened to everything I could on that receiver, but I would routinely tune in to WWV to hear the time from the atomic clock. And I left it on for a while, because it was like meditation. Having nothing better to do, I also memorized the announcements that happened every half hour. Here’s part of one, and I’m typing from memory:
Inquiries regarding these transmissions may be directed to the National Bureau of Standards, Radio Station WWV, 2000 East County Road 58, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80524.
Why do we remember these things in so much detail? 😂
Other bulletins sometimes happened during the broadcast, like alerting listeners that a leap second would be added this year. Of course, these bulletins always fit perfectly into the cadence of the clock, never lasting more than fifty seconds so that the time announcement wasn’t interrupted.
If you’ve never listened to the stations and don’t have a shortwave radio, here’s a great simulator: WWV Simulator (mcodes.org)