New York City, Union Square, Bizarre Clock. . .

Factual Questions
1

I suppose this one will be best appreciated by NYC residents. On one of the buildings directly south of Union Square, above the Virgin Mega-Store facing the park, there is a row of number in lights (about 12, give or take). The numbers in the center are changing very rapidly, with decreasing speed as one goes either left or right. One side is going up, one is going down (I think – it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been down there).

Anyway, what’s the deal with this thing? Is it even a clock? Thanks a bunch.

2

That would be our national debt. Not a pretty picture, is it?

3

I’m pretty sure that’s not right. There is a debt clock in the city, but it’s in midtown (if memory serves) and looks nothing like the one by Union Square. Besides, why would a debt clock work from the center out? Thanks for the attempt, however.

4

Actually, the debt clock was removed earlier this year after it had slowed to a trickle, and then began running backwards. I guess a sign showing the steadily decreasing national debt wasn’t really making an impact on anyone, so they took it down.

As for the sign in Union Square, I’ve seen it, and been told by a friend that it’s some sort of avant-garde clock, but I’ve never taken the time to analyze it myself. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out-- get a stopwatch and grab some space in the sqaure for a few minutes. Take the most likely digits to represent minutes and seconds, and see if they actually change every second or every sixty seconds. If so, you’re probably looking at a clock and the last remaining task is to figure out which digits represent what. If not, it’s either not a clock, or is a clock that is so insanely complicated as to be worthless except for novelty or artistic purposes. (Or, you could always go in and ask the folk at the record store. I’m sure they’ve gotten asked enough times that they either have the correct answer, or at least a caustic and funny incorrect answer.)

As for why someone would put up such a strange and inscrutable thing, um… I guess because it’s NYC.

5

or could it be to get you to go in to the store?

6

It’s called the Metronome, and it’s definitely a clock.

From this page:

Here’s the page of the company that created it: http://www.alcorn.com/applications/customers/videosonic/

7

The National Debt clock is on 6th Avenue around 44th street. I pass it all the time walking northward from work.

8

Thank you, Smakfu. I’ve been walking past that damn thing every day for the past three months, and it’s been driving me crazy. Now, can anybody explain that weird “moking magic wand” thing next to it?

9

Ahh . . . my world makes sense now. Many thanks.

10

Maeglin:

Now, wait. First Nurlman says it’s been taken down, then Maeglin says he “pass(es) it” (present tense) “all the time.”

Which is it? And if it’s still there, is it indeed running backwards now? I would think that would be cool. Inspring, even.

11

Here’s a story from CNN about it shutting down in September: http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/09/07/debt.clock/

That story only references it being turned off though, not to it being physically removed. It may have been tho.

12
13

Being strictly bridge & tunnel, I’ll defer to Maeglin. My use of “taken down” was an imprecise synonym for “shut down.”

My knowledge of the sign’s status was gleaned primarily from news reports, such as smackfu’s, that said the sign was being shut down. Whether it was physically removed and replaced with, I dunno, an Old Navy billboard, or whether it’s just hidden behind a curtain, or whether it’s still visible but just non-operational is not something I have firsthand knowledge of.

(I do recall standing on the corner in NYC and watching it run backwards, however. Not really inspiring, since it was moving fairly slowly, but it did prompt a bit of a double-take.)