Stephen Hawking Unveils World's Strangest Clock
An unusual time piece was unveiled at Corpus Christi College, which is part of England's Cambridge University. By unusual, we mean that the clock cost approximately two million dollars, took seven years you to make, and was unveiled by none other than Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking.
The clock, designed by John Taylor, is nearly four feet across, is gold plated, and comes equipped with, we kid you not, a hideous, terrifying, time-eating locust/grasshopper.
You see, Taylor views time as the great destroyer and he wanted a clock that represented the morbid reality that "once a minute is gone you can't get it back." The locust revolves around the perimeter of the massive gold face, mouth agape, tongue hanging out. Every second, its mouth opens wider and on the 59th second its jaws swallow time. The clock does not have hands or anything of the like. Actually, the clock only tells the exact time once every five minutes. The time is determined by a light source within the clock that shines through small slits on the clocks face that pulse and play tricks on the mind. Every five minutes, the lights pause on the exact time, then go back to their capricious ways.
Oh, and we forgot to mention that on the hour, instead of a traditional bell tone, the clock emits the sound of a chain dropping into a coffin. Nice.
The clock will be displayed in front of the Taylor library at Cambridge (The library is named after John Taylor). On another note, Taylor library has just received our vote for most depressing library in the entire universe. [From: DailyMail]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pamela said 8:28AM on 9-22-2008
So let me get this straight....we (as in the people) practically paid for this piece of crap clock. I am so ashamed that with the price of food going up, gas going up, houses in foreclosure that a 2 MILLION dollar clock was unveiled that serves no purpose? Buy a swatch!!!!!!
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surya narayan singh said 10:51PM on 9-24-2008
check out this strange clock
http://snsays.com/727/strangest-clock/
John Harrison is said to have been the greatest clock maker in the world. It took him 36 years to build a clock and he was still adjusting it when he died at the age of 83. Dr. John Taylor followed his example and developed a handless clock that would decorate the exterior of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge.
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