# Where can I find a Clock that does not tick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242 "2011-08-18T23:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/1 "2011-08-18T23:01:12Z")
I am looking for an inexpensive kitchen wall clock that doesn’t tick. tick. tick. tick. aaarrrrrrgggghhhh!:mad: It needs to be battery operated due to frequent power outages here in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea how to even know if one ticks or not without taking it out of the package and putting in batteries. The last two I have purchased have ended up with batteries removed in the middle of the night. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/2 "2011-08-18T23:04:18Z")
I snapped the second hand off my cheapo target wall clock and it’s much quieter now. If you still have the old ones, you could try that. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/3 "2011-08-18T23:08:49Z")
My living room clock has a second hand that just spins around, smoothly and silently. It’s disconcerting, actually. I can handle time when it’s broken into seconds, but seeing it flow by uninterrupted makes me feel like my life is draining away. It never stops. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/4 "2011-08-18T23:13:02Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I snapped the second hand off my cheapo target wall clock and it’s much quieter now. If you still have the old ones, you could try that. Thanks 🆒 Wow. I would have thought that would make any difference, but it does. I have put the batteries back in and will see how it is in the still of the night. I thought the noise came from the mechanism, but it comes from the second hand? Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/5 "2011-08-18T23:15:53Z")
Of course you could come into the modern era and purchase a LED clock. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/6 "2011-08-18T23:34:22Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Of course you could come into the modern era and purchase a LED clock. So then I could be irritated at the infernal glowing that goes with that? No thanks. I admit it. I’m a luddite. I want a clock with hands.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/7 "2011-08-18T23:41:14Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > I thought the noise came from the mechanism, but it comes from the second hand? Interesting. Yeah, I don’t know why it worked but it did and I don’t really need my time measured by seconds. Minutes is as precise as I need wall clocks to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/8 "2011-08-19T02:45:48Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > So then I could be irritated at the infernal glowing that goes with that? No thanks. > > I admit it. I’m a luddite. I want a clock with hands.😃 You can buy silent LED clocks that have hands like an analog clock: [here’s one example](https://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/ledclock.jpg?w=470&h=315). [And another.](http://www.luberth.com/18.jpg) But they still have a certain amount of glowing lights. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/9 "2011-08-19T03:01:22Z")
What you want is a clock that’s advertised as having a “sweep” second hand movement, like [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Clock-Quiet-Second-Metallic/dp/B001BZCPTM). ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/10 "2011-08-19T06:00:11Z")
41.25!? Yeah, it better sweep! -the floors! ---
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/11 "2011-08-19T11:39:51Z")
How about a LCD clock. They don’t emit any glow are silent and the batteries last forever. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/12 "2011-08-19T13:26:34Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > So then I could be irritated at the infernal glowing that goes with that? No thanks. > > I admit it. I’m a luddite. I want a clock with hands.😃 I guess you wouldn’t like my **LCD** clock in my kitchen that has the time, date, day of the week, inside and outside temperature, relative humidity and phase of the moon and automatically adjusts for daylight savings time? ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/13 "2011-08-19T13:46:35Z")
If you want to modify the clock you already have, insulating the battery pack on the back with bubble wrap also helps - it reduces the amount of vibration that gets to the wall, reducing the transmitted volume of the ticking. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/14 "2011-08-19T14:51:27Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > I thought the noise came from the mechanism, but it comes from the second hand? Interesting. The _motion_ comes from the mechanism. I’m willing to bet a lot of the _sound_ comes from the vibration of that big honkin’ tuning fork of a second hand jerking to a start and jerking to a stop times each a minute. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/15 "2011-08-19T15:02:24Z")
[got this one from thisiswhyImbroke.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZZBXE/?tag=047-20) no ticks. it’s cool, but I still wish I’d gone for the [math clock](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003L7WF7A/?tag=047-20) or the [zombie garden gnome](http://www.etsy.com/listing/73981239/zombie-garden-gnome-rising-dead)…but that wouldn’t have helped with the time. ---
**Author:** ![Infoseeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e68b1a/32.png) [@Infoseeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infoseeker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/16 "2011-08-19T15:03:02Z")
There are clocks that use those LCD calculator-like screens; so no light-bleeding at all just like a calculator. Though you won’t see it unless the room’s lights are on. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/17 "2011-08-19T15:07:34Z")
At least in Britain, clocks that don’t make noise are advertised as having a “silent mechanism”. You might want to put that term into the search box of your favourite online store. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-a-clock-that-does-not-tick/593242/18 "2011-08-19T20:40:02Z")
I used to have a clock like [this one](http://www.coolstuffexpress.com/store/p/49-Kinetic-Motion-Time-Machine-Steel-Rolling-Ball-Clock.html?feed=Froogle). It doesn’t tick, but after a few days, I’m sure you would be very happy to get your ticking clock back.