Analogue or digital clocks.

[Chris Hobson]

Times Have Changed

Me: "So the clock tower is—" Tourist: *Interrupting.* "Why do you keep calling it a clocktower?" Me: "Because… that's what it is? It's a tower with a clock on it." Tourist: "Where?!"

notalwaysright.com

Notalwaysright.com again, this time a tourist who didn't recognise the clock on the Big Ben Tower as a clock. I found the comments interesting as some people apparently now view analogue clocks as obsolete technology rather than one of two different formats. One commenter said that he couldn't remember the last time he saw an analogue clock and it also appears that many younger adults don't know how to read one. Personally I'm comfortable reading both types. Some went off at a tangent about 24hr time, known as Military Time in the US. I find it strange that there are places where you rarely see an analogue clock. Some commenters were unaware that there are clocks that don't use batteries. Most watches are analogue unless you are talking about very cheap ones but many people no longer wear a watch and just use their phone to check the time. Are analogue clocks dying out, or are they likely to be around for the foreseeable future?

 

[Inka]

That’s shocking @Chris Hobson I love analogue clocks and watches. The mechanisms are amazing. Some clocks are works of art I don’t think they’ll ever die out, but I do wish there were more available. My children always have analogue clocks and watches.

 

[s'nic]

I grew up around 'real' clocks, at home the main clock sat on the mantelpiece with it's wooden case and roman numerals.
My nan had a grandmother clock complete with pendulum and a tick tock which was both extremely loud and slow.

I mainly check the time either on my Garmin or PC, but I do have this battery powered one on the table.

 

[Alan44]

Never had a digital watch and never will, Analogue watches as @Inka has said, are a "work of art" be they automatic or battery

 

[Robin]

I have succumbed, and wear a cheap digital watch, but I still have an analogue kitchen clock that I check if I want to know the time when I’m at home, even though I’m wearing the watch.
I have also been known to look up at the church clock when I’m out for a walk, rather than check my wrist.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Neurologists will eventually need to rethink their standard test of "draw a clock face".

 

[Dishevelled]

We have two grandfather clocks and two mantel clocks all of which we've inherited as well as a couple of battery powered ones. They get wound every Sunday. I just love the tick tock background sound and on the rare occasions when one of them stops, the silence is unsettling.
I suppose that no one needs to be able to read an analog clock these days but it does seem a shame not to learn such a simple thing.

 

[rebrascora]

I am very reliant on our village church clock as my stables are right in the centre of the village opposite the church. I can hear the clock strike the hours and quarters whilst I am working in the stables which helps me not to lose too much track of the day.
I don't wear a watch anymore and I was in a right pickle when the church clock broke down a few years ago. I was very happy to contribute to the clock repair fund, even and it took a long time to raise enough money to get it back on track. Someone was required to go up the clock tower and wind it once a week as well but I found out a few weeks ago that it is now being upgraded so no one has that onerous task anymore and it will be automatically kept to good time and updated when the clocks change, so they are adding new technology to the old workings. I love that church clock and it is as much a member of the village as I am. So pleased they have been able to fix it but could easily have bought a Rolex for the cost of the repairs. 😱

 

[Chris Hobson]

If anyone missed it, there is a thread that I started about wristwatches here.

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/expensive-watches.116430/

There are lots of analogue clocks in our house, mostly quartz but one pendulum wall clock that strikes on the hour and half hour.

 

[helli]

I think my answer is "it depends"
I have not worn a watch for years as I always have my phone with me. My phone has a digital clock which feels like the right thing.
I can't think of an analog clock in my house because I have no "just clocks". There's the clock on the heating, the clock on the microwave, the clock on my computer, the clock on my cooker, ...
But I would hate to see digital clocks on public buildings like village halls or churches or Big Ben.
I think there is room for both but that does mean children have to learn both.