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Is the Union Square Clock Trying To Tell Us Something?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 5, 2009
Modified Nov 5, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 5, 2009
Modified Nov 5, 2009
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The crazy steam-spewing Union Square "Metronome" clock is off by 52 minutes! Does anyone even know how to read this thing? One blogger explains just how to decipher it:
The 15 numbers of the digital clock display time going and coming relative to midnight. Read time going left to right and time coming in the opposite direction. So, if the clock reads 180746***135205 it means that it is 6:07 P.M. (18 hours/07 minutes/46 seconds since midnight) and that there are 5 hours/52 minutes/13 seconds remaining until midnight. The three numbers in between are a blur of moving numbers. It is like a digital hourglass.
Let that absorb. Now, she notes that the clock "was 52 minutes early yesterday" and wonders where those lost 8 minutes went to. Is it the end of the world as we know it? Someone call John Locke.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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