This Clock Uses Famous Book Quotes to Display the Time

There's not a whole lot of innovation that can be done with a clock. But if you want to add some literary panache to the timepiece on your nightstand or on your office desk, Mechanical Design Labs has a new Kickstarter campaign that uses classic book quotes to show you the exact time.

With a library of over 2000 quotes from authors across six centuries, the Author Clock uses a new quote every minute that incorporates the time into it. So, for example, if you were to look at the clock at midnight, you might see this line from Hamlet: "'Tis now struck twelve: get thee to bed, Francisco." At 11 p.m., the clock could read "It was eleven o'clock and the unused hour was fresh as if issued to children on a beach," from Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. And it works for any minute of the day—so at 6:45, you'll get a quote from The Metamorphosis, while a deep-cut Sherlock Holmes line chimes in at 10:36. In addition, you'll find quotes from Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield, and plenty more.

The outside of the Author Clock is made of white oak wood and houses a non-blue light, an e-reader-like screen, and a charging port. The brass knob on the side of the device lets you customize settings such as the time, the font, and the ability to omit vulgar language. The device comes in sizes small and large, has two months of battery life, features a power-saver mode while you sleep, and comes with a USB-C charging cable. Both sizes have brass bases, so they can be propped up on flat surfaces, but with the larger version, you can remove the base and mount the timepiece on a wall.

The Kickstarter campaign has already raised over $630,000 from nearly 4300 backers, well beyond the goal of $20,000. There's still time to show your support for this novel gadget by contributing to one of the project’s tiers. The small and large Author Clocks have suggested retail prices of $149 and $349, respectively. However, through the limited-time Super Early Bird tiers, which expire on Wednesday, October 27, you’ll receive one small clock when you contribute $109 or more, or one large clock when you contribute $219 or more. If you miss the deadline, you can still get two small clocks when you pledge $218 or more. In addition, when you back the campaign, you’ll be able to enter a quote you’ve discovered to add to the collection. Author Clocks are expected to be delivered by April 2022.

Check out the Author Clock on Kickstarter now before the campaign closes on Friday, November 12.

Sign Up Today: Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter!