# Watch List **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971 "2018-06-12T15:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/21 "2018-06-12T17:40:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Sure we do. For your cell phone to tell you what time it is, you have to pull it out, turn it on, and look at it. Not always true. When I pull out my phone, it senses the change in (I think) what is in front of it, and displays the lock screen, which shows the time. Nothing to turn on, it’s just there. I pull it out and look at it. Nothing to wind, always correct, automatically adjusts to DST **and** when I change time zones - my phone is a better watch than any watch I’ve ever owned. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/22 "2018-06-12T17:47:46Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I gave up wearing a watch for many years because I have a phone. I hear this more and more ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/23 "2018-06-12T17:52:33Z")
Misfit vapor smart watch to keep track of my aqua exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/24 "2018-06-12T18:38:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Sure we do. For your cell phone to tell you what time it is, you have to pull it out, turn it on, and look at it. > > For your wristwatch to tell you what time it is, you just have to glance at your wrist. That’s easy to do while your hands are full, or while you’re doing something else, like driving or talking. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Or you’re running/cycling/other activity that makes getting at a phone awkward. I swear to god, other people and their ‘exercise’ and ‘hobbies’ make no sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/25 "2018-06-12T18:57:01Z")
I wear a FitBit. I miss my regular watch though. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/26 "2018-06-12T19:11:59Z")
I wear a Rolex I got as a 21st birthday present some … mumble mumble … years ago. It is self-winding and keeps wonderful time. Who needs to know the time accurate to a second under normal day-to-day conditions. Maybe once a month I move it a minute ahead or back. I also have a cell phone most of the time, but it probably takes 5 times as long to get the time from it assuming my hands are empty. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/27 "2018-06-12T19:19:04Z")
i wear a cheapie wrist watch ($12 from WalMart) with big numbers so I can see the time easily. A battery lasts several years. When a new battery no longer keeps it going, I’ll find another cheapie. That way, when I inevitably scratch the crystal, I don’t care a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/28 "2018-06-12T19:20:15Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > {…} self-winding {…}. I don’t know if those exist for pocket watches. {…} I’m aware of, at least, [one](http://www.desperadowatches.com/product/desperado-530w-33-jewel-automatic-mechanical-pocket-watch-with-power-reserve-indicator). CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/29 "2018-06-12T22:10:02Z")
My Fitbit tells the time (when I’m actually wearing it), but I usually use my phone as my default timepiece. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/30 "2018-06-12T23:48:35Z")
I’m aware that most people have stopped wearing watches. How do I know this? Because, a couple of times a week, someone will notice that I’m wearing a wristwatch and ask me “What time is it?” Apparently that’s more convenient for them than fumbling in a pocket or purse for a phone. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/31 "2018-06-12T23:50:08Z")
Phone ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/32 "2018-06-12T23:52:45Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I’m aware that most people have stopped wearing watches. > > How do I know this? > > Because, a couple of times a week, someone will notice that I’m wearing a wristwatch and ask me “What time is it?” Apparently that’s more convenient for them than fumbling in a pocket or purse for a phone. I’m the nearly-official timekeeper at work, but I think that’s mostly because I will volunteer the time, down to the seconds, at the drop of a hat. Or a hint. Or an opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/33 "2018-06-12T23:59:22Z")
Even before cell phones became affordable, I hadn’t worn a wristwatch for decades because a band around my wrist just felt annoying. And besides, clocks are in most of the places you need them, like home, office, car. Even my bike computer has a clock. When I’m other places, I have a cell phone with me nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/34 "2018-06-13T00:17:25Z")
Digital watches count as “other”, right? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/35 "2018-06-13T00:34:41Z")
The clock in the system tray on my computer. I spend about 14 hours a day at the computer. When I’m not at a computer, I don’t care what time it is. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/36 "2018-06-13T01:42:26Z")
I wear a solar powered watch. It’s a handsome, stainless steel watch with a black face. Not showy, but nice, and high quality. I started wearing a watch when I was in the eighth grade. It felt like I was a step closer to adulthood when I got my first watch. I was someone who was responsible for being somewhere on time! Thirty two years later, I still feel like, as a grownup, I should wear a watch, even if I have a dozen other ways to see what time it is now. Plus, at the end of the day, I hang the watch over the tail of my ceramic kangaroo. This reminds me of my dad. (Yeah, yeah, like the one in Pulp Fiction. My dad had a kangaroo caddy for as long as I could remember. I have a similar one now, and my brother has my dad’s.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/37 "2018-06-13T01:59:00Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Sure we do. For your cell phone to tell you what time it is, you have to pull it out, turn it on, and look at it. > > For your wristwatch to tell you what time it is, you just have to glance at your wrist. That’s easy to do while your hands are full, or while you’re doing something else, like driving or talking. This. I have a solar-powered electronic Casio, so I voted “wristwatch-quartz.” I teach college for a living. I need to know when the lecture period is coming to an end. I can’t be hauling a phone (or pocket watch for that matter) out of my pocket to see what time it is, but a quick glance at my wrist works perfectly. Although I have pretty much stopped using the alarms and timer on the watch. I use my phone for those functions. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/38 "2018-06-13T02:00:17Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > …Plus, at the end of the day, I hang the watch over the tail of my ceramic kangaroo. This reminds me of my dad. (Yeah, yeah, like the one in Pulp Fiction. My dad had a kangaroo caddy for as long as I could remember. I have a similar one now, and my brother has my dad’s.) That’s really a thing? I had no idea. I thought Tarantino made that up. Way cool. Thanks for enlightening me. [Now I have to get one!] [I wonder if I can get my dad to “season” the watch for me for a few years?] ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/39 "2018-06-13T02:02:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I chose ‘wind-up’ because automatic winding is technically winding. 😉 Same for me. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971/40 "2018-06-13T02:26:12Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > That’s really a thing? I had no idea. I thought Tarantino made that up. Way cool. Thanks for enlightening me. [Now I have to get one!] [I wonder if I can get my dad to “season” the watch for me for a few years?] Yep! Google “kangaroo caddy” or “dresser kangaroo” or some such. I think they were most popular in the late 50s, early 60s. Mine, and my dad’s, look like this: [https://i.pinimg.com/236x/71/7d/a6/717da688e893e7cf8f40ee90b7b0ceef--dresser-kangaroos.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/71/7d/a6/717da688e893e7cf8f40ee90b7b0ceef--dresser-kangaroos.jpg) I always liked the sound of the coins dropping into the pouch when my dad emptied his pockets out when he got home. I hang my wedding ring over the kangaroo’s right ear and put my wallet in the big opening on the kangaroo’s left side. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-list/815971.md?page=3)