Takin' My Time Trivia Quiz

Answer: Noon

This clock which provides us with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is a twenty-four hour clock. Because of this, the hour of noon is at the bottom of the clock face. The Shepherd Gate Clock is located at Greenwich, London, England. The clock is mounted on the outer wall of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Charles Shepherd constructed and installed this clock in 1852.

Answer: Minute hand

"Big Ben" clock tower is located in Westminster, London, England. This famous tourist attraction's clock dials are twenty-three feet square. The minute hand, on each clock face, is fourteen feet long. Each number is two feet high. "Big Ben" is actually the nickname for the bell of the clock in the north end of the Palace of Westminster.

The name is sometimes incorrectly applied to the clock or tower. "Big Ben" was 150 years old in May, 2009.

Answer: Apostles and Christ

This particular Strasbourg Cathedral Clock in Strasbourg, France, dates back to 1843. The clock is an astounding eighteen meters in height. The original clock dated back to sometime between 1352 and 1354. The 1843 clock has many automata, a perpetual calendar, an orrery (this is a planetary dial), a display showing the real positions of both the Sun and the Moon and also eclipses which are both solar and lunar.

The attraction which is most observed takes place at 12:30 pm daily (noon clock time).

It is a procession of the Apostles in front of Christ. At various different hours of the day other automata take place such as an angel sounding the bell and another angel which turns a sandglass over. There are animated characters which depict various stages of life from childhood to old age.

Answer: Copenhagen

Jens Olsen's World Clock is in Copenhagen, Denmark at the City Hall. It not only tells the time but has a beautiful display which shows the night sky, phases of the moon, solar eclipses and the length of each day and night. There are a dozen movements to this clock, which consist of well over fourteen thousand parts. Once a week this mechanical clock actually has to be wound.

The fastest gear on this clock revolves every ten seconds but the slowest gear only completes one revolution every 25,753 years.

Answer: Kulkulkan (Feathered Serpent)

The Kulkulkan, Chichen Itza, Mexico is a pyramid clock dedicated to the "Feathered Serpent" Kulkulkan. It is located in the city of Chichen Itza, Mexico. This city is a temple city and the clock is the world's largest clock. Both the solstices and the equinoxes are clearly indicated through the shadows which are cast on its steps in relation to where the Sun is in the sky at the time. Kulkulkan is also known as Quetzalcoatl (The Plumed Serpent).

The temple of Kukulkan pyramid is a very important ceremonial structure. It is ninety feet tall and is a storehouse of Mayan information on their calendar. Each side of the pyramid has ninety-one steps. All four sides plus the common platform at the top of the pyramid make up three hundred and sixty five, representing a year.

Answer: Orloj

The "Orloj" Astronomical Clock is in Prague. This clock's oldest parts date as far back as 1410. At that time Mikulas of Kadan (clockmaker) and Jan Sindel (astronomy and mathematics professor) made the clock. The automata of the Twelve Apostles and Christ, takes place every hour and is known as "The Walk of the Apostles".

The "Orloj" is mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town City Hall which is situated in the Old Town Square. October 9, 2010 marked the 600th anniversary of the clock.

Answer: New York City

In 1904 Times Square was named in honor of its most famous area business resident, The New York Times. Since then the area has become a centre for time and news in New York City. The digital Times Square Clock is one of the most recognized clocks in the world. Every year, on December 31st, the world watches, with great anticipation, for this clock to strike midnight welcoming in the New Year.

Answer: Time eater

The Corpus Clock is also known as the time eater. It is a gold-encrusted monster which is part grasshopper and part locust. The monster goes around the gold disc which is in the centre of the clock. As the monster advances its jaws snap and it devours another second in time.

It has a tail that stings and claws as well. Instead of numbers or hands this clock has slits that light up to show the time. The movement, around the gold disc, of the grasshopper/locust monster triggers flashing blue lights which eventually pause at the correct hour and minute. John Taylor created and funded this clock. Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled it on September 19, 2008.

This clock is at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library.

Answer: Athens

The "Tower of Winds" is located in Athens, Greece and was built in the first century B.C. This beautiful marble structure is forty feet tall. This water-powered clock, or clepsydra, also had a sundial on the top of it. There was also a disk which rotated and showed the position of the sun based on the constellations. This clock is also called "horologion" and is in an octagonal shaped clock tower.

Answer: Rolex

The Rolex watch is a Swiss high-quality luxury wristwatch and is regarded as a status symbol. Rolex produces about two thousand watches per day. This type of wrist watch was founded by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in 1905. The headquarters for Rolex is located in Geneva, Switzerland.