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The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Corpus Clock and Chronophage

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Explore a modern landmark in a medieval city. The Corpus Clock in Cambridge, England honors both the past and future of telling time. READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/corpus-clock-corpus-christi-chronophage

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

In the fall of 2008, part of Cambridge University in England was closed to traffic and a stage

0:08.0

was set up.

0:09.0

A local band performed people milled about and a large curtain covered the corner of

0:14.2

the university's newest library.

0:17.5

When the band was done, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking took the stage and the curtain

0:22.6

was pulled back to unveil a large gold disc with flashing lights and a giant grotesque

0:28.8

insect, mashing its jaws.

0:33.4

I'm Dylan Therese and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible

0:38.2

and wondrous places.

0:39.8

And today we are going to explore a modern landmark in a medieval city, the Corpus Clock.

0:46.3

It honors both the past and future of telling time.

0:50.1

You just might not want to set your watch to it.

0:53.8

More after this.

0:58.8

Walking down the streets of Cambridge, the Corpus Clock is a kind of stop you in your

1:11.2

tracks with your mouth wide open kind of sight.

1:15.0

To start with, it's huge.

1:16.4

Its face is 5 feet in diameter, it's golden with ripples that catch the light and instead

1:21.4

of numbers, it has slits which light up to tell you the hour, the minute, the second.

1:27.2

And then of course, there is the insect sitting on top.

1:31.2

It's over a foot long with metal hairs, sharp teeth, waspish wings and a stinger and

1:36.8

its spindly legs turn the clock slightly every second, making time literally march on.

1:44.5

In a historic city, it's an understatement to say that this clock sticks out.

...

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