Grumpy Old Geeks Topics Inca timekeeping claim Topic Inca timekeeping claim 2 mentions in 1 episode A claim about measuring time by boiling a potato that a host says he could not independently verify. Mentions 81: Congratulations... Now Get Off My Internet! Oct 24, 2014 1:06:16 The Inca measurement of time was based on how long it took to boil a potato. 1:06:35 I tried to Google this and do a deep search to get some other links and some real facts.