# Etch a Sketch clock
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 9, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735 "2008-03-09T17:02:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/1 "2008-03-09T17:02:24Z")
[Etch a Sketch clock](http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=3564424&rid=0)
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/2 "2008-03-09T17:25:49Z")
Awesome.
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### Author:  [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/3 "2008-03-09T21:37:26Z")
I wouldn’t be getting any work done!
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### Author:  [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/4 "2008-03-09T22:06:43Z")
Neat.
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### Author:  [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/5 "2008-03-10T06:19:42Z")
I just had an _amazing_ nerdgasm.
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### Author:  [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/6 "2008-03-10T14:19:09Z")
Not so great…there’s a 30-second period every minute where it doesn’t tell you what time it is, because it’s busy erasing and rewriting.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/7 "2008-03-10T14:33:29Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8]
Not so great…there’s a 30-second period every minute where it doesn’t tell you what time it is, because it’s busy erasing and rewriting.
[/QUOTE]
Imagine a large turntable, its circumference lined with sixty of these machines, facing outwards - the turntable rotates 6 degrees each second (completing a full rotation in one minute, There’s a window through which you can view the machine displaying the correct time, including seconds - once it has passed out of view, it begins writing the time to be displayed a minute hence.
In fact, if it only does take 30 seconds to draw the time, then we’d only need 30 machines on a turntable rotating twice per minute - and each machine would get two duties per minute.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/8 "2008-03-10T14:54:13Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8]
Not so great…there’s a 30-second period every minute where it doesn’t tell you what time it is, because it’s busy erasing and rewriting.
[/QUOTE]
Oh, like your time is _sooo_ important. 😃
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### Author:  [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/9 "2008-03-11T00:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=astro]
[Etch a Sketch clock](http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=3564424&rid=0)
[/QUOTE]
So why does he need a second one, on his wrist?
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### Author:  [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/10 "2008-03-11T01:10:31Z")
totally awesome. this from a geek wannabe. 😛
and yeah, i want one for my office desk.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etch-a-sketch-clock/440735/11 "2008-03-11T01:17:13Z")
I want one that renders web pages. Granted, 0.03 fps frame rate means flash games aren’t going to be very playable…