# Scary Internal Clock, I have one **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 30, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056 "2007-05-30T13:13:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/21 "2007-05-30T18:44:39Z")
Yep, me too. We’ve done this before. I never have to worry about setting an alarm clock. I do set one when it’s necessary, but 99/100 wake up with 10 minutes to go. My wife OTOH could sleep 3 hours past wakeup time and not even realize it. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/22 "2007-05-30T19:14:38Z")
I have an internal compass, but my clock is broken. I also can find a liquor store in any random city. This comes in handy much much more on road trips than a silly clock. My wife will remind folks that I once failed to find a liquor store. But it was in Arkansas, and it was a dry county. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/23 "2007-05-30T19:43:16Z")
Many cats have uncannily internal clocks. For example, our 7-month-old [Henry](http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/Pets/Henry8.jpg). He and his younger brother are accustomed to receiving a food treat at 11pm each night. If I am busy and can’t feed the treat until, say, 11:05, Henry starts up a ruckus of hollering and whining for his kitty numnums. I’ve kept note of his behavior, and it seems that he’s accurate to about two minutes. Lawzee, I can’t do that. If you took the clock away and asked me to yowl when it was after 11, I might be an hour off. ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/24 "2007-05-30T19:44:42Z")
I’m in to an accuracy level of about 3-4 minutes. I think it’s because I haven’t worn a watch ever. So I get a pretty good idea of time of day just out of habit. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/25 "2007-05-30T19:55:52Z")
[QUOTE=RedRosesForMe] ETA: I do the microwave thing all the time too. [/QUOTE] Me three on the microwave thing. Although it doesn’t matter if it’s 5 minutes on the microwave or an hour and a half in the stove. I’ll walk into the kitchen with single digit seconds to spare. I’m also accurate to within a half a minute how long it will take me to travel from point A to point B. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/26 "2007-05-30T19:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] Many cats have uncannily internal clocks. For example, our 7-month-old [Henry](http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/Pets/Henry8.jpg). He and his younger brother are accustomed to receiving a food treat at 11pm each night. If I am busy and can’t feed the treat until, say, 11:05, Henry starts up a ruckus of hollering and whining for his kitty numnums. I’ve kept note of his behavior, and it seems that he’s accurate to about two minutes. Lawzee, I can’t do that. If you took the clock away and asked me to yowl when it was after 11, I might be an hour off. [/QUOTE] Dogs, too. Our idiot golden retriever, Rusty, knows _exactly_ when it’s 6:00 for dinner, and _exactly_ when it’s 9:00 for his evening dog biscuit. Even the time change doesn’t faze him – he’s on schedule right through it all. It’s quite uncanny. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/27 "2007-05-30T20:39:27Z")
Compass accurate to about 5degrees. Drives my hunting buddy & camping/hiking friends nuts when we’re in the woods. I also remember how to get someplace after only one trip there. (This includes landmark locations while on a hunting trip). I can just picture in my mind the landmarks along the way, and the “feel” of the trip very easily. While I usually print directions to drive someplace, if I’ve been there before, I rarely use them. The internal clock was not installed, and is not available as an upgrade on my version. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/28 "2007-05-30T21:39:20Z")
I had the ability for about 25 years. I woke whenever I wanted, without an alarm, not that I didn’t set it just incase. I expected this to be about a desperate to get pregnant woman, over forty. That is what a man considers a scary internal clock. Is she still taking the pill? Hmmm. I also can go to any place I’ve been that hasn’t changed and know where something is. It’s very helpful when you pick aspeargus or other stuff, because I know where the stuff has been found over the years. within a few feet. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056/29 "2007-05-30T22:10:10Z")
I have this ability too. Seldom am I off by more than a minute or two, and more often than not, I’m dead accurate, and I don’t just do 5 minute intervals either. My fianceé will ask what time it is and I say 9:23, and I’m right. However, some activities just don’t register for me (like TV, which may seem weird), so when I AM off my an amount, it’s not random, it’s by the amount of whatever that activity was. I also have an uncanny sense of direction. If I’ve been to a place once, unless there’s been some major changes in the roads, or something else (like a new building that changes my landmarks), then I can find my way back from anywhere. The only thing that amazes me is that between an uncanny sense of direction, and a quartz-quality internal clock, I still can’t make it anywhere on time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scary-internal-clock-i-have-one/406056.md?page=1)