If you stop to think about it, clocks are really a very cool invention. They’re very amorphous, they can take on many many different shapes and forms and still retain their function perfectly. Clocks range from expensive, high tech models with lots of buttons and doodads, right down to a stick in the mud. Here are a few of the more unconventional clocks I’ve seen.
“Pisa”
The first one, called “Pisa” because of it’s leaning tower-like design, breaks away from conventional clock design and function, keeping the hands stationary and instead having the clock face rotate with the passing of time. You can even turn the clock face around to show roman numerals instead of numbers.
Unfortunately, unless you live in Korea, you’re out of luck if you want to own one of these. If you do happen to live in Korea however, you can find them here.
Via Technabob.
Tubular Time clock
More reminiscent of a towel bar than a clock, the Tubular Time Clock by Art Lebedev forgoes digits completely in favor of phrases such as “five minutes to three” and “ten minutes past seven” to mark the time. And at 33 inches wide, this one is actually about the size of a large towel rack. It mounts to the wall and runs on one AA battery. If you’ve got $160, you can find this one at Uncommon Goods. 
Via Technabob.
The Idea of a Clock II
Now for a clock that would look right at home in an airport.
The Idea of a Clock II was created by Singapore designer Hans Tan and used a green LED bulletin board to tell the time using a long description such as in the picture.
Via Technabob.
Open Edition LED Clock
This one proves that clocks don’t even have to be in one piece. The Open Edition LED Clock is divided into 4 parts, one for each digit, enabling you to rearrange them however you want.
This one is available from gnr8.
Via Technabob.
Stonehenge
If you’re an electronics/robot geek, then Stonehenge is the clock for you. It consists of a Parallax Propeller Chip to display the time.
The current time is displayed on the card in front of the arm. There are a total of 14 cards, each with 2 digits, one on each side. The software planner decides which side of which card is needed to display the current time. Here is a video of Stonehenge in action. If you would like to build your own Stonehenge, look in the September issue of Robot Magazine.
Via Norris Labs.
Real Bird Cuckoo Clock
And now we go from the weird and wacky to the just plain creepy: the Real Bird Cuckoo Clock, made from, yes, a real dead bird.
According to creater Micheal Sans, this bird died in 1958, so he nailed the it up crucifixion-style and hung a digital clock around it’s neck. Thankfully this is the only one he’s made, and it’s not for sale.
Via Weird Clocks.
Time Zone Clock
And last but not least, for you world-mined people out there, there is the Time Zone Clock, which can simultaneously tell the currennt time in London, Frankfurt, Moscow, Delhi, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Los Angeles and New York. 
The clock has nine 3.5 inch clocks built into its polished steel face. You can get one of these from Atylia for about $107.
Via Technabob.
