Alex from the film A Clockwork Orange seems to be suffering from Nocturnal Lagophthalmos here.

Nocturnal Lagophthalmos – what the heck is that? It’s the medical term for sleeping with your eyes open!

Today’s blog entry will be continuing our theme of sleep and sleep disorders with a look at Nocturnal Lagophthalmos, or eye-open sleeping.

Some people think the ability to sleep with one’s eyes open is a fabrication of fiction. It belongs in a scene with a battle hardened solider who wakes up at the last second to protect himself. The truth is that sleeping with one’s eyes open is a real problem for an estimated 6 to 10% of the population.

The medical term for sleeping with one’s eyes open is nocturnal lagophthalmos. This is a two-fold problem. First, a doctor needs to determine if the nocturnal lagophtalmos is a symptom of a larger problem or if it is a condition in and of itself.

Sleeping with one’s eyes open can be an indicator of several other nerve and muscular problems. Bell’s Palsy is a usually a temporary condition that hits about one in 65 people during their lifetime and about 50,000 people annually. It causes temporary loss of muscle control of the face. About 10% of Bell’s Palsy patients develop permanent loss of muscle control. It will usually start with a pain in the neck or behind the ear that is typically dismissed or tolerated by the patient. When the patient wakes one morning with half their face drooping, they assume they’ve suffered a stroke and seek medical help. There are very few treatment options and most people end up having to wait for it to end as suddenly as it started.

Other more commonly known conditions can cause nocturnal lagophthalmos. Stroke victims, Alzheimer’s patients, and multiple sclerosis patients may develop it. Additionally trauma to the face and the nerves that lead to the face may also cause it. In this sense, “trauma” includes some facial piercings. For these people, the treatment focuses on the underlying medical condition.

For the people who do not have an underlying medical condition, sleeping with one’s eyes open is a part of their life. Often babies will sleep with their eyes open, but they tend to grow out of it between 12 and 18 months. Many patients note that it runs in their family and it’s considered a normal condition for that family.

A still photo from the film Un Chien Anadalou by Luis Buñuel & Salvador Dali: is this woman sleeping?

Sleeping with one’s eyes open seems relatively harmless, but it can cause some big problems. Some people do not sleep well or they end up sleeping for very short periods of time due to painfully dry eyes. These people must use eye drops on a regular basis to help keep their eyes healthy.

To fully understand why this condition can be so troublesome, we need to take a step back and talk about what the eyelid does for the eye. The first thing the eyelid does is act as a physical shield for the eye. We will instinctively blink when we hear a loud noise. When something comes toward our face, we flinch. These are evolutionary developed reflexes to help us protect our eyes. When we blink, our eyelids will wash our eyes with fluid. This fluid helps cleanse the eye and remove any particulates that might be in them even if they’re too small to feel.

Now, let’s take a moment to explore the healing process of the eye. When we sleep our bodies work to repair themselves and our immune system kicks up to full speed. This is why people who are ill should get plenty of rest. During our sleep, our eyes rest and recover from the day. UV rays, dust, pollutants, and many other things can damage the eye. Having our eyes closed for 6 to 8 hours at a time washes our eyes with restorative fluid. People who sleep with their eyes open do not get the full benefit of this and experience the additional problem of having their protective reflexes slowed and their eyes exposed.

There are very few treatment options for people suffering from nocturnal lagophthalmos.

Typically, people with lagophthalmos will sleep with shades or some type of protective eye wear or they will put shields on their eyes to keep their lids closed.

However, the biggest reason people want to stop sleeping with their eyes open is that it tends to creep out family members.

Tags: alarm clock blog, eyelids, eyes open sleeping, lagophthalmos, nocturnal lagophthalmos, Sleep, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleep medicine, sleep problems, sleeping, sleeping with eyes open

• Morning Sickness Poem
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Down With Sleep Disorders
• Clocks That Run Backwards

Okay, and now for something completely different.

Imagine that it’s 1981 and you’re a college kid in his first year at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

You have no idea what you want to do with your life but you know you like to read crazy books so you decide to become an English major and worry about what you’ll do for a job at a later date (a much later date, as it turned out).

At Boulder, Colorado you discover beatnik literature, including such authors as William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski (ok, not a Beat, but great) and you also happen to discover American punk rock at the same time. You don’t know which has the bigger influence on you: punk rock or underground literature.

William S. Burroughs, earlier a(n anti) hero of mine.

So you’re heavily into William S. Burroughs’ cut up experimental literature while at the same time listening to The Flesheaters or The Gun Club or Flipper on vinyl LPs (remember those?!) and you become some weird kind of intelligent punk rock beatnik bookworm. With straight A’s.  And a Phi Beta Kappa. (yawn)

You begin financing your extracurricular activities by writing the school papers and essays that your friends and acquaintances have due in their classes…and you start creating your own chapbooks of poetry which are then given to perhaps two people at most.

Poetry is lame. But mine wasn’t. It was punk.

Chris D.'s lyrics to The Flesheaters' songs were much better than 90% of the literature I studied in college.

Years later I ended up abandoning a promising career as an advertising copywriter because it sucked. Not only did advertising copy writing suck, it was stressful and cutthroat to boot. So I did odd jobs for many years until I eventually ended up becoming a Web Developer. Coding is like writing. It all kind of makes sense, at least to me.

But in all those long years of one bad job after another (several of them involved making Cafe Lattes for Yuppies at the various cafes where I worked), I also tried to work on writing…

Here, now, is a lost poem from those college years…or was it from the odd job years? Who knows.  The brain cells which might reveal this to me are now gone forever.  I just happened to think of this poem yesterday, as it struck me what a long, hard road it’s been from those times back then to being the creator of the world’s original Online Alarm Clock website now (which is really great).

The title of this little piece was/is “Morning Sickness“:

Morning Sickness

This globe is a mattress
on which we walk in sleep
a round rotating death lap,
on which we f*** and eat
but never awaken.

We are hibernating
until spasms nocturne
or a blood-stirring pain
alarm us into day
like war, noise or disease:
they pull the covers back.

If we were injected
with Sunlight Benzedrine
shadows would crawl inside,
Queen-Sized Earth would yawn farts,
the shock would kill our dreams,
most likely we'd get sick.

Yet awake we should be,
enlightened by squalor:
the goddess in curlers
bleeds on sheets this morning,
baptized by the rooster's shouts
when the fetus rouses.

At this point you might be asking yourself, “What the heck’s that doing on this Alarm Clock Blog – has this dude flipped his wig?”.

Well, if you think about it, it’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?

I mean, that I wrote such a poem about wakefulness so many years ago, only to end up working on this cool alarm clock website now?

Well, I think it’s a very cool coincidence and I hope some of you also enjoyed reading “Morning Sickness“.

But, if not: no problem.

It’s my blog. I can do whatever the heck I want with it.

Tags: advertising copywriter, alarm clock blog, college, cool alarm clock website, copywriter, english major, flesheaters, morning sickness, odd jobs, online alarm clock, poem, poetry, punk, writing

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Video Clock Demonstration
• Clocks That Run Backwards

Sleepwalking or somnambulism is the subject of a lot of science, science fiction, and conjecture. There are two common myths connected to sleepwalking. The first is that sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams. This was first theorized in the 1950s and has since been dismissed. The sleep state that coincides with dreams is not the sleep stage that coincides with sleepwalking. The second myth is that it’s dangerous to wake a person who is sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers are rarely dangerous or aggressive upon waking.

Sleepwalkers are typically confused and disoriented. If there’s an additional issue going on such as a person with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) who is dealing with night terrors, then there might be some concerns with waking them. Still, it’s best to wake a sleepwalker as the most dangerous aspect of sleepwalking is the risk of accidental self-injury. Although there have been cases where violent crimes were committed while the person was sleepwalking.

If those are the myths about sleepwalking, what are the truths? There isn’t much agreement in regards to the statistics around sleepwalking. Estimates range from 1% to 15% of the population sleepwalks. Children are the most common sleepwalkers with peak activity occurring between the ages of 4-8. Children usually grow out of it with little to no ill effects. Sleepwalking in adults is another matter.

The term “sleepwalking” is an umbrella term for several different activities. Sleepwalkers will do more than walk. Some will get dressed or undressed, attempt to drive, do normal daily activities and even initiate love-making with their partner all while asleep. (Making love while you’re asleep is a complicated matter, but due to the family-friendly nature of this blog, we won’t be focusing on that. However, it is fascinating.)

Sleepwalking has left a strong impact on our books, movies and television shows. Did you know there's even a Marvel Superhero named Sleepwalker?

There is correlation between sleepwalking and night terrors. (I can HEAR my college professors in my head “correlation is not causation”. It was a mantra. Someone tell Dr. Healey to get off my back so I can focus on this. Thank you.) Adult sleepwalkers are 50% more likely to suffer from night terrors. This can be especially distressing when a sleepwalker also suffers from PTSD even though the person isn’t “dreaming” at the time they’re sleepwalking.

The causes of sleepwalking vary. Somnambulism is typically a symptom of another problem. Stress, anxiety, some psychological disorders, medical ailments, and medications can increase the chance or prevalence of sleepwalking. In the elderly, sleepwalking is sometimes associated with organic brain syndrome (OBS). OBS is not a psychological disorder. It’s an umbrella term that is associated with a whole host of other physical mental issues. It can be connected to everything from a vitamin deficiency to fatal diseases.

Could it be that our legend of "zombies" derives from real-life sleepwalkers?

Generally speaking sleepwalking does not indicate a major disorder or disease. It’s typically associated with stress. Once the stress in the person’s life is eliminated, then the sleepwalking fades.

Sleepwalking is often a bigger deal to the friends and family of the sleepwalker than the sleepwalker themselves. Certain precautions need to be taken to help protect the sleepwalker. Stairs can be blocked off with gates. Electrical cords and anything else that can trip or injure the sleepwalker can be hidden or put away. Car keys can be kept in a difficult to get to spot or a lock box of some kind.

A few years back, a friend of mine would sleepwalk. He’d get out of bed for his early work shift, shower, dress, go down stairs, and then get in his car as if he was heading to work. He only got as far as starting the car, but after that we would put his keys in a “puzzle box” and use the chain lock and other locks on the front door. Several times we’d wake up and see him wandering around the living room muttering to himself as if we were his co-workers. The sleepwalking stopped when he changed jobs.

If you or someone you know suffers from sleepwalking, talk to a doctor and then take a long look at your life.

Why is this on a clock site? Because, darn it, we care about our readers and we think that sleep-related stuff like this is interesting.

We hope you do, too.

Tags: alarm clock blog, night terrors, organic brain syndrome, Sleep, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleepwalker, sleepwalkers, sleepwalking, somnambulism

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Morning Sickness Poem
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Down With Sleep Disorders
• Clocks That Run Backwards

Here at Online Clock we’re obsessed with all things associated with time. We like keep track of time, set alarms for special times, and record how much time has passed between when something starts and when it stops. We also like to keep tabs on the theoretical applications of time. One of the more interesting theoretical adventures of our old buddy time comes from Albert “it works in theory” Einstein in his theory of Special Relativity. The theory of Special Relativity allows for the mathematical possibility of time travel.

Time travel is a mainstay of science fiction and a foray into fun for people obsessed with time. Before we get into any kind of “time travel: fact or fiction” debate, it’s important to define at least one concept. What is time?

Time itself it difficult to define. Carl Sagan once said that time was “resistant to simple definition” and he was right. It’s easy to think time is what happens between the moments when the numbers on a clock change. We think of a second starting, fulfilling its fate, and then ending. We can watch a clock and observe seconds becoming minutes which turn into hours and so on.

The Theory of Special Relativity states that as an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down. At first that seems impossible. A second is a second is a second, right? Yes and no. A second is a second. A second doesn’t turn into a minute as one approaches the speed of light for the person with the second. Time is relative to where in the space-time continuum the person measuring the time is and where the time that is being measured is.

Let’s back up a second and take a moment to think about what a second actually is. When we were going through elementary school, we were taught that a day is the time it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis. There were roughly 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute. Time was connected to the movement of astrological bodies. If you recall our blog post about atomic clocks, you’ll know that time is no longer based upon astrological bodies. Time is based upon the vibrations of a certain type of atom.

These atomic vibrations which serve as the true foundation of time change as one approaches the speed of light. The space shuttle doesn’t travel anywhere near the speed of light, but scientists have already noticed that–in relation to the people on Earth–astronauts travel several nanoseconds into the future.

Time travel is not metaphysical conjecture. It’s a scientifically noted fact. The trick is how to take this physics phenomenon and turn it into a real usable practical process. For that, we’d need a time machine.

An artist's depiction of a black hole.

The universe may have already provided us with time machines. Black holes, wormholes, and cosmic strings might turn out to be gateways to the past or future. Black holes are theorized to come in two different types. The Schwarzschild Black Hole is the most familiar. Gravity crushes all. The end. No time travel. The other type of black hole is the Schwarzschild Black Hole. This black hole does not end in a singularity. It ends in a rotating core that is like a column with a “white hole” on the other side. This black hole-“white hole” connection could be a conduit to time travel or a parallel universe.

Wormholes, also called Einstein-Rosen Bridges, work in a similar fashion. They are tunnels that pierce the fabric of the space-time continuum. If two twins hold onto opposite ends of a wormhole and one stands still while the other travels near the speed of light, the two twins could observe the different passages of time. The twin standing still would age while the twin moving would not. The twin standing still would experience several years as opposed to the twin moving. This is known as the Twin Paradox. Using the tunnel created by the wormhole, either twin could travel to the other time.

Wormholes could be used to traverse the universe more quickly than through conventional means. Traveling through a wormhole is like tunneling through a mountain instead of traveling around it.

Cosmic-strings can be likened to an intergalactic magnetic monorail. The “pearls” on the cosmic string contain a very powerful gravitational force. This force moves objects from “pearl” to “pearl” along the string. The force is so very strong that it warps the space-time continuum. Cosmic-strings also challenge one of Einstein’s “facts”. With this theory, the speed of light isn’t constant.

Give me Warp Speed, Scotty!

The science around time travel is all very theoretical. The science fiction that deals with time travel is much easier to understand once someone is willing to live with a willing suspension of disbelief. Gene Roddenberry seemed to have coined the concept of “slingshotting around the sun” to propel the Enterprise into the past or future. The episode “The City on the Edge of Forever” shows the burden of time travelers. The Edith Keeler had to die to restore the correct timeline.

HG Wells gave us a fantastical steampunk time machine in his work The Time Machine. This story broke open the concept of time travel and presented it to the general public. Ever since then, time travel has been a source of scientific theories and fantastical conjecture.

The debate is no longer an HG Wells “what if time travel was real” scenario, but a very real scientific “when will time travel be available to us” scenario.

So, to answer the question posed by the title of this blog post: yes, time travel will be for real, sometime sooner than we think!

Tags: alarms, albert einstein, black holes, Carl Sagan, cosmic strings, Einstein-Rosen Bridges, Gene Roddenberry, HG Wells, Schwarzschild Black Hole, space-time continuum, theory of relativity, Time, time machine, time travel, wormholes

• The Time For An Alarm Is Now
• Online Alarm Clock Reminders
• The Clockmaster Reminds You
• What Do Clocks Mean In Dreams?
• Galileo and the Pendulum Clock

Stopwatches are handy little devices. The Chinese are attributed with creating the first stopwatch. It was a modified water clock and used mercury in lieu of water. The phrase “split second” is thanks to the Stopwatch. Originally the phrase didn’t mean a fraction of a second. It referenced a mechanical element of a Stopwatch. When it came time to mark a lap, the second hand would split in two. One half would mark the first time and the other would keep gauging the on-going events.

Usually Stopwatches are connected to a race of some kind. Perhaps someone is running against their best time or another opponent. Other people will use a Stopwatch to time an experiment or a game. The problem is that most people don’t own an actual Stopwatch anymore. Like wrist watches are falling to the clocks on mobile phones, Stopwatches are falling to fumbling around on a cell phone or digital watch trying to figure out where that feature is hidden. (That assumes people have explored their phones enough to know if there is or isn’t a Stopwatch Function. Took me a year to discover it on mine. )

Always know if you're winning the race by using our Online Stopwatch!

Good thing there’s a handy-dandy Online Stopwatch, huh? It seems odd that more people would own a laptop or a computer than a Stopwatch, but computers are more prolific than hand-held Stopwatches. (Seriously, there are no hard statistics on this information. I’m trying to make a point here can you just go with it, please? If you need some kind of empirical evidence then use your friends. The next time you’re having a party ask for a show of hands of for whoever owns a computer and who owns a Stopwatch. Now ask them if they can actually find their Stopwatch. Happy now? Can I move on Mr. Persnickety? Thank you.) With a laptop, Wi-Fi connection, and an Online Stopwatch, you always have a way of keeping time. You can time that three-legged race, time a chess move, or even figure out how long that one crazy friend can keep a spoon balanced on his or her nose.

There are more serious uses for a Stopwatch. For example, if DBM glitches out during the Hodir fight in Ulduar and you need to know when the next Flash Freeze is going to hit, because if you don’t call it out over vent it will wipe the raid, you have access to a Stopwatch on your second monitor or computer that can mark the time. (Any World of Warcraft players reading this are nodding their heads and laughing. Everyone else is confused and is trying to figure out how WoW is serious business. )

You can use our Online Stopwatch to boil the perfect egg!

Or you can use our Online Stopwatch to brew the perfect cup of tea!

Here we’ve constructed a short list of Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch:

1. Time how long you’ve been steeping your teabag.
2. Check to see if the pizza delivery service really delivers within the 30 minute limit.
3. Soft-boil the perfect soft boiled egg.
4. Time how long it’ll take until your girlfriend or wife starts to nag you again.
5. Keep track of the time you’re wasting by reading strange blogs.
6. See how long it takes to finish uploading a video to YouTube.
7. Keep track of laps on your model car or train set.
8. Count the intervals between when the characters say the word, “Bob” on reruns of the Bob Newhart Show.
9. Check to see if your wife is correct in telling you that your lovemaking is far too short-lived.
10. And our number one Reason To Use An Online Stopwatch: time how long it takes until the next “alleged girlfriend” of Tiger Woods reveals herself to the news media.

Additionally, with many people switching to wireless homes, you can now have an online recipe open in one tab of your web browser and a Web-Based Stopwatch open in the second tab. In this way it’s easy to keep track of how long the batter has been beaten or how long the confectionery has been running at a soft boil…simply fabulous!

Regardless of the multitude of uses, having access to our free Online Stopwatch means you never have to go searching for a stopwatch when you really need one.

Please remember that you can always find the Online Stopwatch located at http://stopwatch.onlineclock.net

As with all of OnlineClock’s various online clocks, timers, countdowns and time tools, it doesn’t cost a cent, it’s easy to use, and there’s never anything to download or install on your computer.

So, without further ado, we’ve gotta split (that’s kind of an internal Stopwatch joke there…split, as in “split times”, get it?).

Tags: alarm clock blog, cronometro, cronometro online, online clock, online stop watch, online stopwatch, stop clock online, stop watch, stopwatch, stopwatch online, stopwatch online clock

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Morning Sickness Poem
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Video Clock Demonstration
• Clocks That Run Backwards

Online Clock says, “Down with Sleep Disorders!”.

An estimated 50-70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder (roughly 20 percent of the population). The National Institute of Health estimates that 18 million American’s suffer from the most common sleep disorder: sleep apnea. Anywhere from 6-12 percent of the population endures insomnia. To help put this in perspective, diabetes hits 1:100 Americans (approximately 1 percent of the population).

The various sleep disorders are treated and diagnosed differently.

Sleep apnea comes in two types: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and unobstructive sleep apnea.

Unobstructive sleep apnea is extremely rare and is usually a symptom of another medical problem. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when there is a physical obstruction of the airway during sleep. Typically, the base of the tongue and/or the soft palate shift back into the throat and temporarily block air flow. There are a variety of surgical and nonsurgical treatments available for OSA. Some of the procedures are very invasive such as inserting a bolt in the chin and using wires and hooks to keep the tongue forward. Some surgical treatments are fairly noninvasive such as somnoplasty of the tongue. This procedure uses radio waves to shrink the offending tissue thus eliminating the obstruction. During the clinical trials of this procedure the medical community hailed it as being highly effective in treating the base of the tongue. The base of the tongue is the most common cause of the obstruction. At one time the uvula was removed as a treatment for OSA. That is rarely done today.

The nonsurgical treatments for Obstructive sleep apnea are BiPAP and CPAP machines. The patient wears a mask while sleeping. The mask is attached to a machine that causes a positive air flow that will nudge obstructions to the side and allow for easier breathing.

Sleep apnea is diagnosed via a sleep study conducted a sleep clinic. The patient is connected to several machines via sensors. Brain wave activity, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and a few other biological activities are recorded and analyzed.

Insomnia, with very rare exceptions, is considered a symptom not an illness in and of itself. Insomnia is often a manifestation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, or the result of irregular sleep habits. The term “insomnia” covers the inability to sleep, difficulties in falling asleep, difficulties to maintain sleep, difficulties to wake, difficulties in remaining awake, and a few other problems. The treatment of insomnia varies due to the myriad of underlying causes. Once the foundational cause is addressed then the insomnia typically fades.

There are also many other sleep disorders of varying degrees of severity. Too many to cover in simple blog post. (You came here to read a blog not a medical journal, right?!)

Given the regrettable prolific nature of sleep disorders, the American health system recognizes “sleep medicine” as a medical subspecialty of internal medicine.

So, why is all of this on a clock site?

Transient insomnia will hit everyone at some point in their life. Given the American habits of computer gaming, late-night television, watching an online clock count down the time at three in the morning (Put down that Red Bull and go to bed. We’ll be here when you wake.), and a whole host of other things that urges us to “burn the candle at both ends”, American culture almost encourages sleep disorders. Most people don’t need a sleep study, surgery, medications, or a mask to solve their sleep problems. They need to pick a sleep schedule and stick to it. Basically, use an alarm clock.

If you’re suffering from transient insomnia, try a few of these tips.

Avoid stimulants before bedtime. Caffeine, nicotine, energy drinks, and exercise stimulate the body and may cause difficulty falling asleep. Exercise regularly in the afternoon or early evening. Wake up with an alarm clock even on the weekends and your days off. Try not to sleep in more than an hour or so and avoid napping during the day.

However, if you think you might suffer from sleep apnea or some other kind of serious sleep disorder, we urge you to please visit your doctor!

Tags: alarm clock, imsomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, problems sleeping, Sleep, sleep apnea, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleep medicine, sleep problems, sleeping disorders, transient insomnia, unobstructive sleep apnea

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• The Time For An Alarm Is Now
• Changes to Our Alarm Clock
• Online Alarm Clock Trivia

Lights…camera…Online Clock!

Hey, Clock Fans – a short time ago we briefly introduced you to our Video Alarm Clock.

But now we’re back with a demonstration video that shows you the Video Alarm Clock in action, and demonstrates just how easy it is to begin using just about any YouTube video as your own wake-up sound for our Online Alarm Clock:

For those of you who’d rather read about this, the newest addition to our family of Online Alarm Clocks, we’ve taken the trouble to transcribe the video’s narration below.

So, feel free to either listen and watch the video above or else just read our transcript of it below…or both! Because we’d really like to show you just how cool this new video alarm function is. (This is evolution in Online Alarm Clocks, folks!)

Just imagine: the alarm sounds for our alarm clock are now limitless…because not only can you use any video you can find on YouTube as your alarm sound (as long as the video’s owner(s) has allowed “embedding on external sites”), but you can also immediately begin to create your own videos with the purpose of uploading them to YouTube and then using them as your own special alarm on OnlineClock.net. 

Using online videos as your alarm clock is a bit of a new concept, so the purpose of this post is to show everyone what this is all about and, as with all of Online Clock’s products, just how easy it is to use.

Yes, we’re sorry if we’re gloating here a little bit, but we really do think this new Video Alarm Clock is, errr, alarmingly good (ouch).

So, without any further blah blah blah, here is the narration from our demonstration video:

My name’s Tom and I’m the creator of the original Online Alarm Clock at OnlineClock.net.

Today I’m here to show you our brand new Video Alarm Clock.

To access our Video Alarm Clock, just go to OnlineClock.net/video in your web browser…and the first thing you’ll need to use our Video Alarm Clock is a video.

So, we suggest going to YouTube and searching for some kind of a video that will interest you. And, when you find a [web] page with a video on it, go ahead and copy the link to the YouTube video and enter it into our Video Alarm Clock.

Here you’ll see a preview of what this video will look like as an alarm.

If you’re satisfied with it, click “Set This Video As Your Alarm“.

You see a confirmation page that [confirms] your alarm has been set to this video…so you can hide it…and then the only last thing you need to do is to set your desired alarm time.

…For demonstration purposes I’ll set it to the current time.

And when the alarm goes off we see that it’s the video that you’ve chosen!

So you can go ahead and turn off the alarm.

And your Video Alarm has been saved for next time.

So – that is the Video Alarm Clock at OnlineClock.net/video !

It really is that easy to use, people, and even easier if you simply add our Video Alarm Clock Bookmarklet to your web browser.

We’ve had a lot of fun coming up with the concept for our new Video Clock, and even more fun developing it, so we really want to get the word out about it, as you can imagine.

If you’d like still more information on this clock, please read our Video Clock FAQs.

P.S.: We’ve had several people write to us and ask us where they can find the Alarm Video actually used in our demo. One of the neat features of the Video Clock is that it enables you to share your Video Alarms with friends! So, we’ll consider anyone reading this blog post to the end like this a friend of Online Clock’s! And here for your perusal, dear friends, is a direct link to the Crowing Rooster Video Alarm as seen in our demo movie.

Tags: online alarm clock, online alarm clocks, online clock, online video alarm clock, rooster crowing video alarm, video alarm, video alarm clock, video alarm clock demo, video alarm demo, video clock, video clock demo

• Morning Sickness Poem
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Clocks That Run Backwards
• What is Horology?
• The World’s Funniest Snoring Videos

Do you ever wish you could turn back time?

Here at Online Clock we’ve seen just about everything when it comes to clocks.

We’ve reported on alarm clocks that fly, alarm clocks that explode, alarm clocks out of paper and who knows what else. You name it: we’ve seen a clock for it.

So it was with great joy and abandon that we discovered something new in the field of clocks the other day: clocks that run backwards.

We have no idea who would want such a crazy clock.

The concept of a backwards running clock is pretty subversive, you have to admit. The whole purpose of a clock is to display accurate time so, by deliberately obscuring the correct time, you’re basically unclocking the clock…or making it less clocky or…well, you get the idea.

All Backwards Running Clocks seem to share two common traits:

1. Their numerals run in the different direction (first you see the 11, and then the 10, etc…looking in a clockwise motion around the dial)
2. Their hands actually run counter-clockwise (and this is what we find real freaky with these clocks!)

There are even Backward Running Wristwatches you can buy. (Heck, I guess some people will spend a lot of money just to try to be different!)

Here at Online Clock World Headquarters we can easily imagine someone waking up to one of these backward clocks in their room and thinking they’re having the worst nightmare or hangover of their life.

Like Backwards Running Clocks, Salvador Dali's melting clock images are similarly subversive.

These peculiar backwards running clocks are reminiscent of Dali’s images of melting clocks….because they take the very idea of showing the current time and they warp this concept, almost beyond the point of recognition .

So, perhaps with a little effort you can still tell the time with one of these backwards-running clocks, but obviously, that’s not their main purpose. You would really only have one of these gadgets in your home for decoration purposes.

Here’s a video showing an actual Backwards Running Clock in action, so that you can get the real feel for how disconcerting these strange objects actually are in person:

And here we’ve found a video which displays the installation of possibly the World’s Biggest Backwards Clock. Or, as its YouTube description reads:

The [video shows the] installation of the 20ft diameter backwards clock for Tobar, in Elough, Beccles, Suffolk, UK

Can we divulge some personal secrets here?

Compared to a lot of people, we probably have some strange artifacts in our home. We’re talking vintage Japanese monster posters from the 1960s, a Frankenstein mask hanging up on the lavatory wall and even a plastic elk’s head trophy hanging above our refrigerator. BUT, a backwards running clock?! No way, we wouldn’t buy one, and we sure as heck wouldn’t hang one of these things up in our home. Each time we’d look at it, we’d probably think that we’d gone mad.

But you can go ahead and buy one.

Just don’t invite us over.

And we’ll keep running backwards…away from you.

Tags: alarm clock blog, backwards clock, backwards clocks, backwards running clock, clock that runs backwards, clocks, clocks that run backwards, Crazy Clocks, online clock

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Morning Sickness Poem
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Video Clock Demonstration

Horology is a wondrous amalgamation of engineering, geometry, and art. Math and art combine to create everything from a simple clock to a breathtaking tower that casts a sweeping shadow over a city. From the Greek word “hōra” and the English suffix “logy”, horology is the art and science of clock making. Horologists (sometimes called horologers) are clock makers and clock repairers.

When most people look at an analog clock, they see the round face, thin hands, and numbers that mark the time of day. Geometry views the face of the clock as a circle, the hands as a time-keeping triangle, and the numbers as degrees. Below the surface, geometry continues to leave its footprint in the way the cyclical gears interact. Engineering lends its metallurgical expertise and builds the gears. Pinions, springs, and gears all move together like an industrial dance to keep a timepiece accurate and functioning. Most people never see the technical science that supports a clock.

Most people see the art even if they don’t recognize it as art. Many people see the beautiful brass pendulums or the elaborate numbers with sweeping flourishes and think of little else other than the time. Some modern clocks and most antique clocks are not only functional, but a visual feast. The ornate and elaborate finishes around the face of a clock or the body that houses the marvel of engineering make many clocks rival the artistic value of sculpture or paintings.

The theft of antique clocks is a big problem. Although some clocks might be stolen due to the rare and valuable materials used in their construction, many are stolen due to their beauty and monetary worth.

A stunning gilded clock circa 1780 was stolen from Venice. The mantel clock features a golden woman sitting upon a pedestal cradling a sphere. Numbers adorn the equator of the sphere. Her fingers point at the sphere thus indicating the time. A cherub sits atop the sphere and detailed garland decorate the whole clock. The bottom is signed by the horologist noting his rank of being a master horologist, but neglecting his actual name. We can only hope this clock was stolen by thieves who recognize the unique design and not someone who just wanted to melt it down.

It’s easy to see the art in an antique clock, but there are modern equivalents. In the 1980s, the Swatch Watch was extremely popular. Although many people complained that the watches were difficult to read and the functionality of the timepiece was sacrificed for the art, other people appreciated the trendy beauty of these watches. The horologists behind the Swatch Watch let art leave a mark on all aspects of the timepiece. The band, clasp, hands, and face of the clock all worked together aesthetically.

Many ultra-modern clocks being manufactured today also incorporate art in their design to such a degree that one may not be able to decide between calling the horologist a designer, engineer, or artist.

From an antique mechanical clock to our very modern Online Alarm Clocks with their retro digital displays, horology is a wonderful marriage of art and science.

Want to find out more about the subject of Horology? We suggest you try browsing Wikipedia’s page on Horology as well as visiting the official website of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors.

Tags: alarm clock blog, antique clocks, clock makers, clock making, clock repairers, clocks, horologist, horologists, horology, modern clocks, online clock

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Morning Sickness Poem
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Video Clock Demonstration

Don’t you hate snoring? Or are you a snorer yourself? Either way, the subject of snoring evokes powerful reactions in us.

We all hate snoring – whether we are the snorer ourselves, or are living with someone who snores.

And why should snoring get us so upset, so riled up? I mean, it’s a human thing…we’re all vulnerable to the strange things that our bodies occasionally do, right? And if we happen to snore, sure, it’s perhaps not so nice…but it’s not the end of the world, is it?

Well, tell that to my ex-wife, who used to kick me out of the bed with her feet when I was snoring.

Or tell that to the wife before who used to banish me to the living room couch on those nights when she couldn’t fall asleep because I was snoring so loud.

Yes, there is indeed something about snoring which tends to irk us…it stirs us up and gets us all excited, reacting much more negatively than is justified to just a little bit of “mouth music” or “sawing logs” that might happen while we’re sleeping.

Or not.

Because, here at Online Clock Sleep Labs, we’ve been conducting a little bit of scientific research via our favorite website, YouTube.

The research involves…you guessed it…finding the absolutely ugliest–and funniest–snoring examples on this planet.

And we’re proud to be able to tell you that, even though our research is far from being finished, we’ve been very successful.

There’s just something about snoring that strikes us in our guts…you have to admit it. Could it be that snoring in some strange way reminds us that we’re all still part animals at heart?

While doing the research for our Snore-A-Thon, we seemed to find some familiar chords and themes that kept reappearing among many of the snoring videos available out there, including:

• Videos of people snoring who apparently claimed “I don’t snore”
• Videos of men and women snoring taken by their spouses and other family members
• Videos of people snoring taken as acts of revenge (now that’s kind of nasty!)
• Videos so unsuspecting people taken who happen to have fallen asleep and begun to snore in public places
• Strangely enough: videos uploaded by the same people depicted as snoring in the video (what’s up with that?!)
• Videos of animals snoring

So here, without any further yackity-yack, is Online Clock’s Official First Snore-A-Thon, or collection of the World’s Funniest Snoring Videos.

The Beef Jerky Snorer
Don’t try this at home, kids (seriously – somebody might choke!). But, since it’s already been documented, we’ll show you this video, purely in the name of science. No, do not adjust the volume on your television sets…there is no sound on this one.

The Incredible Bubble Snorer
She blows bubbles as she snores. Incredible. And really gross.

Man Sleeps & Snores With Eyes Open
This is incredible, and we don’t think it’s fake. How is this possible? Is David Copperfield lurking around the corner, making this possible through magic? Who knows.

The Cat That Sleeps & Snores With Eyes Open
This pet must belong to the guy depicted in the previous video. No, we don’t want to pet him – he looks real creepy.

The Boston Terrier That Snores Like A Grandpa
Cats aren’t the only household pets that snore, as the Boston Terrier in this video demonstrates. This dog snores louder than any human being we’ve ever known.

The Amazing Snoring Bunny Rabbit
Silly rabbit – snoring is for kids! And what a very peculiar snoring sound it makes. Please, bunny: don’t sleep through Easter.

The Snoring Duck
Quack Quack ZZZZZzzzzzzz. Wake up, Donald.

Snoring Pot-Bellied Pig
No, contrary to what my ex-wife may claim, this is not a video of yours truly. (I do shave.)

The Snoring Hamster
Could this be the world’s smallest snoring mammal? Does anyone care? However annoying this sound may be, please do NOT use the hamster in the video as a soccer ball.

Man Or Beast?
Can you identify the mysterious creature in this video? Is it perhaps a wildebeest…or a wild buffalo of some kind? Inquiring minds want to know. Well…not really.

Possessed Woman Snoring
Somebody: call a priest! Demons come out!…and let that poor woman be!

Funny Breather
Is this snoring? Technically, perhaps not. But what are you, the snoring police? It’s very much related, and it’s pretty darn weird, so we decided to include it.

Finally, we’re also big fans of this Pool Spa Snorer, but unfortunately video embedding has been disabled on it, so you’ll have to watch it directly via the YouTube website.

So there you have it, folks: Online Clock’s first collection of the World’s Funniest Snoring Videos, Snore-A-Thon Numero Uno.

And if you think that was all, think again…because we have bucket loads’ more material for a second and even a third installment.

Yes, our first Snore-A-Thon has been a lesson in science to all of us here at Online Clock, and we sincerely look forward to our next installment of the World’s Funniest Snoring Videos.

We hope you’ll join us.

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Tags: alarm clock blog, funniest snoring videos, online clock, snore, snore video, snore-a-thon, snorers, snoring, snoring videos, videos of people snoring, world's funniest snoring videos

• Eyes Open Sleeping
• Morning Sickness Poem
• Sleepwalking And Somnambulism
• Reasons To Use An Online Stopwatch
• Video Clock Demonstration