Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3941-3945 (18-22 February 2019)
pwhodges:
(I think that was the joke).
DSL:
--- Quote from: BenRG on 21 Feb 2019, 08:35 ---A few years back, someone actually made a clockwork clock with a digital display - All mechanical and no electrical movement whatsoever. I'm sure that with the noise of the various display elements open and closing, it makes a racket.
--- End quote ---
Those were the digital clocks of the day. I had, and you can still have (though they are a retro novelty now) a mechanical analog watch with a digital date display (usually a window in the face where the 3 should be). Electric mechanical-digital alarm clocks came in two flavors: illuminated-from-behind tapes with different numbers on them, or a row of flipcards that changed as the minutes and hours did. The tape clocks kind of made a sighing sound as the numbers changed (kinda cool if it's late at night in a quiet house and the clock is inches from your eight-year-old ears) and the flipcards made a faint slapping noise as they changed.
Sullivan:
--- Quote from: cybersmurf on 21 Feb 2019, 08:38 ---
--- Quote from: cesium133 on 20 Feb 2019, 20:12 ---*Two, so you can compare them to help you detect errors.
--- End quote ---
Three Actually, so you know which one is wrong if one differs.
--- End quote ---
Experience shows that within a short time, no two of them will read the same.
Sullivan:
--- Quote from: DSL on 21 Feb 2019, 09:58 ---[...] and the flipcards made a faint slapping noise as they changed.
--- End quote ---
"split-flap display". These were commonly used in railroad stations and airports, sometimes on very large boards. People learned to look up at the display when they heard the flapping sound, which could last many seconds. In some cases when they were replaced with electronic displays, the flapping sound was reproduced, so as to continue to alert passengers of changes. In other cases they've just kept them...
Cornelius:
A lot of electric clocks that simulate a pendulum will have some slight ticking noise. More so if it is a plastic one. It's definitely not the same, though. Just like electric cuckoo clocks, with a recording. Most definitely not the same.
I still have one of those split flap alarm clocks around.
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