John Taylor’s Corpus Clock, aka the Chronophage, or ‘time eater’, is an impressive looking beast of a clock that was made as a tribute to eighteenth-century clockmaker John Harrison’s grasshopper escapement, a low-friction mechanism for converting pendulum motion into rotational motion.
Despite it’s massive size (over 1.5 meters in diameter) the Corpus Clock’s inner workings are all mechanically controlled, including the world’s largest grasshopper escapement that adorns the top. Electricity does power an electric motor, which winds the clock, and blue LEDs which light up the hours, minutes, and seconds, but the blinking eye, moving mouth, swinging hands and everything else you see is all old-school mechanical.
Another interesting element of the clock is that it’s only accurate once every five minutes. The rest of the time, the pendulum can stop, the lights can lag, and then everything can race to catch up, symbolizing life’s “irregularity”. Despite this irregularity though, the clock is expected to stay accurate for the next 200 years or more.
At a cost of over one million pounds, this solid 24-karat gold clock definitely wasn’t cheap, and it took over five years for the two hundred people involved in the making of the clock to get everything put together, but if you’re going to design the world’s strangest clock, no one ever said it was going to be easy.
Then you’re probably the type of person that would like the SomethingStore, a website that sends you “something, an item selected randomly among many things from our inventory, for $10 (free shipping) and you will find out what your something is when you receive it”.
What could this something be?
It may be something you need, something you want or something you desire. (Though it also may be total crap.)
Yours may be a cool gadget, rare book, table game, handmade necklace, reverse clock, box of gourmet chocolates, set of shiny shower curtains, popular video game, big-box retailer gift card, the latest version of a software, a set of kitchen knives, a pair of designer jeans, garden tool, kitchen appliance, unique home decor item, electronic equipment, magazine subscription, office supply item, or…
Your something will most likely be brand new, though it may also be refurbished or antique.
So SomethingStore can send you anything?
Well, besides “items or services that are illegal to trade in United States”, yes!
If you want your watch to do a bit of everything, then check out the HT2 from Timberland.
The watch features analog and digital clocks, an altimeter, a thermometer, a barometer, an analog and a digital compass, a chronograph, and a tachymeter.
Plus, according to Timberland, “it is reasonably lightweight and feels great on the wrist”.
Furni, the clock (and furniture) design company, wants you to show them your skills, and is giving you clock guts to do it with.
To take part in the design competition, just order one of their clock parts kits, build a box to house them in, and then show off your stuff. The winner might even see their design in the next Furni collection.
Regardless of the result, you’ll at least end up with a clock that no one else has (though there’s probably a reason you’re not a professional clock designer), and the pride of knowing that you made something with your bare hands. It’s clock time.
If you have a day off this Memorial Day weekend, or if you are just looking for something to do, why not take on a project? To inspire you, I’ve put together five ideas that are (relatively) simple, (relatively) easy, and (relatively) cheap, and should be doable during the next few days (hopefully).
With an old picture frame, some curtains, sun emulsion, a garden hose, and ink, you can screen print out your very own fashion in just hours. Never wear the same shirt again!
Last week’s Stockpile Saturday was a success, so this week, I’m bringing you 20 more links that I’ve been saving for some time now. Enjoy.
The Amateur Gourmet is a great food blog that does the occasional review in comic book style. It’s a refreshing look at alternative ways of displaying content.
Locksport International has put together a Guide To Lock Picking that serves as the perfect primer for anyone that’s looking to get into the sport. It’s done in graphic novel form, and gives great step-by-step information about lock picking, re-pinning, making tools, and more.
Jeff Thomas loves Nixie tubes (glass tubes that are filled with gas and can display numerals or other information). Most people are content with clocks that feature the technology, but Jeff wanted a watch, so he designed his own. Sadly, he only made 20, and they’re already sold out, but hopefully another company picks up where Jeff left off.
Extra Tasty is a site devoted to inebriation, thought the design is clearly attributed to the more sober, as drink recipes, drink possibilities, tips and tricks, and a soothing color scheme are all easy to access. Get your buzz on.
Su Blackwell cuts amazing sculptures right out of the pages of well-known books. Each design ties into the plot, and the results bring the story to life.
Toss ‘N’ Track is a Frisbee that can be tracked on the Internet. Each disc has a unique number printed on it, and after playing with it for a while, you simply toss it in the disc’s intended direction, and let someone else find it. They can then log the disc into the site, and you can see how far it travels.
Steve ‘The Grape Guy’ Spalding is currently The World’s Fastest Grape Catcher with his record 67 grapes in one minute from 15 feet. And you thought your talent was worthless.
Reuters has an amazing video of the current world record for most dominoes toppled, 4,079,381, being set by an international team of 90 builders from 13 countries. I’ll bet they were glad no one sneezed.
My Monopoly lets you create your own unique and personalized Monopoly game. You can choose a theme, and then add your own names to all of your favorite places. Want to call Boardwalk ‘Your Mom’? Go ahead, the world is yours.
Evere wonder what words your bartender hates hearing? Thankfully, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bartender extraordinaire, has created a list of the Eight Things You Should Never Say To Your Bartender. If you want to get served up right, make sure you follow the list.
9 to 5 Paintings record what you do on your computer during the day and turn it into art. The site gives examples of the final result, as well as a tutorial for setting up your own double mouse feature so that you can make 9 to 5s of your own.
If you’re a blog writer, there’s no better place to go for advice than ProBlogger; which is why the list of ProBlogger’s best posts for 2006 is an indispensable resource for all online authors.
This very cool wall clock from French publishing house Domestic lets you create and customize your very own designer clock. Using the removable adhesive vinyl stickers and the real clock mechanism, you can mix and match to suit your style. It’s two D, it’s three D, and it’s awesome.
Though sadly I don’t know first hand, I’ve often heard that the hardest part of being a billionaire is finding enough time to spend your ridiculous amount of money. Thankfully, Bernard Gitton’s Liquid-Time Sculpture helps you both keep track of that time and spend that money. The 7 foot tall version of this vacuum operated waterclock will cost you $85,000, and a 35 foot tall version (which obviously requires a house with 36 foot tall ceilings, so you’re probably going to need an upgrade) will set you back a few Ferraris, or 495,000 Washingtons. Got that kind of pocket change? International Robotics will gladly exchange it for some time. Now if only they made this in a watch version.
The Timeline Clock is an interesting concept where the date and time are shown on bands that scroll across the screen. It’s a unique way of displaying information, and somehow captivating, though you only really notice the seconds and minutes scrolling along (which does put the slow movement of everything else into perspective). If someone could figure out how, I’m sure this would make an amazing wristwatch. If you click on the clock, you can download Timeline and use it as a screensaver. Very cool.
What time is it? With the Open Edition LED Clock, who cares? It’s always time to look trendy with a new style of clock that no one but you can understand. From the website:
A series of four cubes, each displaying one glowing number. When placed in order, current time is displayed normally. When placed in “dis”order, time is completely rearranged.
This would make the perfect alarm clock if they figured out how to move the snooze button to a new cube each time you try and get that extra 10.
John Taylor’s Corpus Clock, aka the Chronophage, or ‘time eater’, is an impressive looking beast of a clock that was made as a tribute to eighteenth-century clockmaker John Harrison’s grasshopper escapement, a low-friction mechanism for converting pendulum motion into rotational motion.
Furni, the clock (and furniture) design company, wants you to show them your skills, and is giving you clock guts to do it with.
