Epoch (reference date)

Okay, so imagine a big calendar with lots of dates. Every day that goes by, we mark it off on the calendar. The very first day that we mark on this big calendar is called the epoch, kind of like the very first page of a book. It's a way that we can all agree on what date it is, no matter where we are in the world or what time zone we're in. So, when we talk about something happening on a certain date or time, we use the epoch as our starting point, like a launchpad for our calendar. It's like starting at the beginning of a race - we all start at the same time and can keep track of how far we've come based on that starting point.