Unix systems count time as seconds since January 1, 1970. This is called the Unix epoch, and it's how computers track time internally.

Right now (well, when you're reading this), the timestamp is some huge number like 1,775,000,000. Humans can't read that naturally!

When You See Timestamps

Database records, log files, cryptocurrency timestamps - these all use epoch time. Being able to convert to readable dates is essential for debugging and analysis.