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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Hawking unveils 'strangest clock' | Hawking unveils 'strangest clock' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A £1m clock called the "time eater" has been unveiled at Cambridge University by Professor Stephen Hawking. | A £1m clock called the "time eater" has been unveiled at Cambridge University by Professor Stephen Hawking. |
| The author of A Brief History of Time was guest of honour when the unique clock, which has no hands or numbers, was revealed at Corpus Christi College. | The author of A Brief History of Time was guest of honour when the unique clock, which has no hands or numbers, was revealed at Corpus Christi College. |
| Dubbed the strangest clock in the world, it features a giant grasshopper and has 60 slits cut into its face which light up to show the time. | Dubbed the strangest clock in the world, it features a giant grasshopper and has 60 slits cut into its face which light up to show the time. |
| Its creator John Taylor said he "wanted to make timekeeping interesting". | Its creator John Taylor said he "wanted to make timekeeping interesting". |
| The Corpus Clock will stand outside the college's library and will be on view to the public. | The Corpus Clock will stand outside the college's library and will be on view to the public. |
| Tribute | Tribute |
| Dr Taylor is an inventor and horologist - one who studies the measurement of time - and was a student at Corpus Christi in the 1950s. | Dr Taylor is an inventor and horologist - one who studies the measurement of time - and was a student at Corpus Christi in the 1950s. |
| He has given the clock as a gift to his former college. | He has given the clock as a gift to his former college. |
| The grasshopper or "chronophage", meaning "time eater", advances around the 4ft-wide face, each step marking a second. | The grasshopper or "chronophage", meaning "time eater", advances around the 4ft-wide face, each step marking a second. |
| Its movement triggers blue flashing lights which travel across the face eventually stopping at the correct hour and minute. | Its movement triggers blue flashing lights which travel across the face eventually stopping at the correct hour and minute. |
| But the clock is only accurate once every five minutes - the rest of the time the lights are simply for decoration.Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled the unique clock | But the clock is only accurate once every five minutes - the rest of the time the lights are simply for decoration.Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled the unique clock |
| Dr Taylor, 72, designed the timepiece as a tribute to English clockmaker John Harrison who solved the problem of longitude in the 18th century. | Dr Taylor, 72, designed the timepiece as a tribute to English clockmaker John Harrison who solved the problem of longitude in the 18th century. |
| Harrison also invented the grasshopper escapement - a tiny internal device that releases a clock's gears at each swing of its pendulum. | Harrison also invented the grasshopper escapement - a tiny internal device that releases a clock's gears at each swing of its pendulum. |
| Dr Taylor told the Daily Mail newspaper he decided "to turn the clock inside out... so you can see the seconds being eaten up". | Dr Taylor told the Daily Mail newspaper he decided "to turn the clock inside out... so you can see the seconds being eaten up". |
| "Conventional clocks with hands are boring," he said. "I wanted to make timekeeping interesting. | "Conventional clocks with hands are boring," he said. "I wanted to make timekeeping interesting. |
| "I also wanted to depict that time is a destroyer - once a minute is gone you can't get it back. | "I also wanted to depict that time is a destroyer - once a minute is gone you can't get it back. |
| "That's why my grasshopper is not a Disney character. He is a ferocious beast that over the seconds has his tongue lolling out, his jaws opening, then on the 59th second he gulps down time." | "That's why my grasshopper is not a Disney character. He is a ferocious beast that over the seconds has his tongue lolling out, his jaws opening, then on the 59th second he gulps down time." |
| Big Ben | Big Ben |
| The Corpus Clock is wound up by an electric motor which will last for the next 25 years. | The Corpus Clock is wound up by an electric motor which will last for the next 25 years. |
| It took a team of eight engineers and craftsman five years to mould the 24-carat gold-plated face. | It took a team of eight engineers and craftsman five years to mould the 24-carat gold-plated face. |
| Alan Midleton, curator of the British Horological Institute, said: "It's a wonderful idea. | Alan Midleton, curator of the British Horological Institute, said: "It's a wonderful idea. |
| "Only time will tell whether it will become as famous as Big Ben - I doubt it, actually." | "Only time will tell whether it will become as famous as Big Ben - I doubt it, actually." |
| Dr Taylor made his fortune developing the kettle thermostat. | Dr Taylor made his fortune developing the kettle thermostat. |