Saturday, May 19, 2012

A mundane icon



I wonder how many thousand times -- in class rooms, waiting rooms, meeting rooms and elsewhere -- I've looked at the face of one of those clocks and wished its red second hand would sweep faster. Now I wish the second hand would slow down a little.

At any rate, that clock, with its simple face and minimal body, is a ubiquitous icon that I've seen hanging on hundreds of walls during my life. I never knew IBM made them, although I imagine that there were a lot of knock-offs on its styling so they probably weren't all IBMs. 

I'll have to look closer at the next one I see.
 
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2 comments:

  1. KurtP9:00 AM, May 19, 2012

    Any of those clocks hanging on a .GOV wall will say "Lighthouse for the blind" on them.

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  2. ambisinistral12:37 PM, May 19, 2012

    Obviously you're not a government bureaucrat. You're close with the "Lighthouse for the blind", but the government can be infinitely goofier than that.

    A government clock would mandate that, behind the glass lens, the numbers were printed in braille on the surface of the clock face.

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