Astounding Timepieces

Steam Clock Gastown Vancouver in Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver, Canada

Steam Clock Gastown Vancouver

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's victorian Gastown

Underneath Vancouver, Canada there runs a series of steam tunnels, with some of the tunnels apparently large enough to walk in... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by canuck

Eartha in Yarmouth, Maine
Yarmouth, Maine

Eartha

The world's largest rotating world

Were you to drive on Maine's Interstate 295 through Yarmouth, it would be next to impossible to miss Eartha. Eartha, housed in a three-story glass gallery at DeLorme Headquarters, is the world's largest rotating/revolving globe... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by michelle

Nima Sand Museum in Japan, Asia
Japan, Asia

Nima Sand Museum

"Singing sands" and the world's largest hourglass reside near Japan's Kotogahama beach

Passing along Route 9 through the Japanese beach town Nima, six large glass and steel pyramids rise out of the hillside, beautifully reflecting the sky in every panel. These glass pyramids are home to the Nima Sand Museum... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by re_nakaba

Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich, Germany
Munich, Germany

Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock

The wedding of the 16th century duke most famous for building the first brewery in Munich is celebrated every day in the huge mechanical clock on Marienplatz... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by Annetta

Beverly Clock in New Zealand, Oceania
New Zealand, Oceania

Beverly Clock

Running since 1864, this clock has yet to be wound, possibly the longest running science experiment known

Despite many attempts, and many claims, of having built a perpetual motion machine, (see Steorn's recent Orbo device) no one has, for one very simple reason. They are impossible... »

Inspired Inventions | Submitted by Anonymous

Clock of the Long Now: Prototype 1 in Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, U.K.
Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, U.K.

Clock of the Long Now: Prototype 1

A clock designed to run with perfect accuracy for 10,000 years

Sitting in the Science Museum of London, is the first prototype for the 10,000 year Clock, also known as the Clock of the Long Now, to be built in a a remote mountain site near Ely, Nevada. Planned as an art/engineering work of heroic scale inside... »

Inspired Inventions | Submitted by LongNow

Clock chiming on the hour. - Astronomical Clock in Kryštofově Valley in Czechia, Europe
Czechia, Europe

Astronomical Clock in Kryštofově Valley

Abandoned substation turned village treasure

The Czech Republic is full of astronomical clocks, most famously the Prague Astronomical Clock and the village of Podještědský is no exception... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by Alpha

The Astronomical Clock of Besançon in Doubs, France
Doubs, France

The Astronomical Clock of Besançon

One of the world's most complex timepieces

The astronomical clock of the cathedral of Saint-Jean, located in the center of the old French watchmaking capital of Besançon, is one of the most complicated horological devices in the world... »

Inspired Inventions | Submitted by mrobscurity

The Calendar Sundial in Galway, Ireland
Galway, Ireland

The Calendar Sundial

Modern sundial uses ancient methods to tell time and date perfectly

The Calendar Sundial in Galway, Ireland tells both the time of day and the month of the year. Located in Brigit's Garden, a local park, the Calendar Sundial, built in 2006, is the biggest in Ireland... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by Mylesnag

Dragon of Blois - Mechanical Dragon Clock in Pays de la Loire, France
Pays de la Loire, France

Mechanical Dragon Clock

A pretty villa with an hourly infestation of monsters

Every hour on the hour the unassuming facade of a villa across from the imposing Chateau de Blois transforms into an enormous mechanical clock... »

Astounding Timepieces | Submitted by Annetta