Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Time Eater





On Friday, renown physicist Stephen Hawking unveiled what has to be one of the most wonderful and terrifying clocks of all time.

The million dollar time piece was designed to grace a new library at the University of Cambridge in England. It features no numbers--only narrow openings in it's gold-plated face through which blue LED lights flash the time. (You can see them if you look closely at the photo above.)

But the most remarkable feature of the clock is the killer grasshopper that sits atop it. Known as the Chronophage, it perpetually walks the perimeter of the clock. Every 59 seconds, it's mouth snaps open and shut as it "eats" the minute that's just passed.

According to college officials, the clock has a few other features worth noting. For instance, at the top of every hour, it "reminds us of our mortality with the sound of a chain dropping into a wooden coffin. More playfully, the clock plays tricks on the observer, seeming occasionally to pause, run unevenly, and even go backwards."

How fabulous!

Read more here and see a video here.

19 comments:

Thumb Biter said...

That's really cool, but a little creepy. But I wouldn't mind having one like it in my room :D

Patsee said...

That's pretty awesome. It's brilliant-- it almost looks like a perpetual motion machine.

Patsee said...

Oh, and I almost forgot: I saw a billboard the other day with a rather large face of a pale girl with almost white hair. It seriously looked like Kiki except for the fact that her lips were crimson. It was even drawn in a similar style to the cover of the books and the illustration on the website. I would have taken a picture, but I was in a car on the other side of the highway and I didn't have a camera easily available.

Kitty said...

*Squee!* XD That is an AWESOME clock!! OoO But the grasshopper looks sorta scary... ^^'

Sahara said...

my dad told me about it when he was reading the newspaper! i didn't really get what he meant though.

falcon said...

Wow. I think its sort of creepy.

KikiCullen said...

That is so awsome! The grasshopper is really creepy though. But I totally want that!

Undiscovered Universe said...

Wow ananka! That's really cool. Do you mind if I post that on my blog too?

Girlskickbutt!!! said...

That is... interesting.
I'm not sure whether to be enthralled or spooked...

Kirsten Miller said...

Patsee: do you remember what the ad was for?

UU: sure! Go right ahead.

SAMEANANYMOUS said...

aaaaaahhhhhhgggggggg, theres such a thing as a deadly grass hopper????!!??!?1 bisides that, thats apsolotly amazing

Irregular Kiki said...

This is a little confusing but it sounds interesting.

Hazel said...

Doesn't "chronophage" mean "time-eater"? That's so creepy!

Patsee said...

I don't think the billboard actually said anything, but I could be mistaken.

Hazel said...

Oh, duh. I just realized that the name of the post is "The Time Eater". Silly me.

Poison Pen said...

I want one of those!
;D

Anonymous said...

that thing is so mesmerising. i could watch is for days. i think the gasshopper is cool and creepy at the same time.

liltomboyblue11;) said...

That's amazing! wow! i LOVE LOVE LOVE grasshoppers! and all kinds of things like that! and time! woooooow!!!! xD

liltomboyblue... wow this is cool and the first time i have used this setting! said...

yay! i have never tried this before! (the open id thing) how helpful!