Why are real-time clocks always 32.768khz?

I have a question, 2 infact.

What is the best oscilator circuit for a "clock crystal". circuits for 8+MHz crystals abund, can the same topologies be used for clock crystals ? I'm designing a clock circuit to drive an old firestation stncro clock but I'm having trouble keep my clock source stable.

Can the arduino be burned with a "watch crystal" bootloader ? it would be great for clock and timing applications where speed is not problem and low power is needed,