Did you know electric clocks were made during the late 19th century, but were not used in homes much until 1930? These clocks used an electric motor that synced up the time instead of a hanging weight or a mainspring.
While today we know large pendulum clocks as grandfather clocks, they weren’t always called that. The term grandfather clock didn’t come along until a song was written by Henry C. Work called “Grandfather’s Clock”.
Have you ever seen a banjo clock? This is an American wall clock with a banjo-shaped case. It was invented and patented in 1802 by Simon Willard. The banjo clock normally lacks a striking mechanism and indicates time only by its hands and dial.
Early clocks didn't have faces and weren't required to measure precise time intervals. As civilizations developed into industrialized societies, clocks developed into more precise devices. Only with industrialization did people start to need to keep track of smaller units of time.
Did you know that the first analog clocks used gear and spring mechanisms, requiring the use of a turnkey to wind the spring? This enabled fairly accurate time keeping. Today's analog clocks use "advanced" button cells and quartz technology, making spring winding obsolete.
Did you know that a steam engine can power a clock? These are called steam clocks. Very few exist anymore, but most were built by Raymond Saunders and were displayed in public places. Even though they look old, they are a recent phenomenon from the 1970s. Saunders first steam clock can be found in Vancouver.