Berlin Clock
The time in glowing lamps
How to read it
Point at a step, or tap it, to light up that part of the clock.
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First row under the round lamp: each red lamp counts 5 hours.
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Second row: each red lamp counts 1 hour.
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Third row: each lamp counts 5 minutes; the red ones mark the quarter hours.
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Bottom row: each yellow lamp counts 1 minute. The round lamp on top blinks with the seconds.
Right now
The story
Designed by Dieter Binninger and installed in West Berlin in 1975, the Mengenlehreuhr ('set theory clock') was the world's first public clock to tell time with groups of glowing lamps. The original still runs today near Budapester Strasse in Berlin.
- Year
- 1975
- Place
- Berlin, Germany
- Creator
- Dieter Binninger
Fun fact
Dieter Binninger also developed an extra-long-life light bulb — partly so the clock's lamps wouldn't keep burning out.