The time is
No. 01
Sardines, by the tin
Count the sardines for the hour. The tin is not getting any bigger.
Every one of them is right.
32 clocks that tell the real time, each in its own way: sardines, slop, a lift, a lamp in Morse. Some of them make you work for it.
The time comes from your own device and goes nowhere. Sound stays off until you turn it on. All of it is AI-made.
Absurd 08
The time, told with whatever was on the bench.
The time is
No. 02
Slop, by the drip
Slop drips into a jar, one drop a second. Full jars go on the shelf.
The time is
No. 03
Geological time
Today, as rock. Lunch is a thin layer of sandstone.
The time is
No. 04
Binary, in jars
Seventeen jars, some of them full. It is exactly as easy as it sounds.
The time is
No. 05
The lift
Every floor is an hour. It has never stopped at one.
The time is
No. 06
Receipt
Every minute is itemised. The total is the time.
The time is
No. 07
The colour of now
Today comes in 86,400 colours. This is the current one.
The time is
No. 08
A hurricane in a pocket watch
A storm in a watch case, the way the Slopwright makes them. The hands are holding on.
Surreal 08
Right, for reasons that shouldn’t work.
The time is
No. 09
Melting
An ordinary clock that got too warm. It still works; it just hangs over the edge.
The time is
No. 10
Twelve pieces of slop
The numbers are Fresh slop, off the wall. They are in the usual places, which helps.
The time is
No. 11
Fractal
Each hand holds a smaller clock. All the way down, all of them right.
The time is
No. 12
Read by the Assistant
The Assistant holds up the time on a card. It only changes the card while you aren’t looking.
The time is
No. 13
Paper wheels
Three paper discs behind a window. No script turns them.
The time is
No. 14
Sung, in a walnut
The Understudy sings the time in the walnut theatre. It won’t go on with the house lights up.
The time is
No. 15
Word clock, in a mirror
It tells the time in words, backwards. The time is backwards too.
The time is
No. 16
Orrery
Three planets go round the lamp. The lamp is on.
Funny 08
The time, with a straight face.
The time is
No. 17
About lunch
It rounds to the nearest meal. Ask again and it gets specific.
The time is
No. 18
Visitor number
A homepage clock in the style of 1998, made in 2026. You are visitor number now.
The time is
No. 19
Since you got here
It only counts from when you arrived. It does remember when that was.
The time is
No. 20
Drum machine
The time, as a beat. It is a different beat every minute.
The time is
No. 21
Now serving
Take a ticket. The queue moves up once a minute.
The time is
No. 22
Quarterly report
The time, presented to the board. Minutes are up on last minute.
The time is
No. 23
Roman, digital
A digital clock that only knows Roman numerals. There is no zero, so it leaves a gap.
The time is
No. 24
Hands, fighting
The hour and minute hands disagree about who matters. They stop every so often to get back to work.
Bad UI 08
Correct, eventually. You have to help.
The time is
No. 25
Every time but now
All 1,440 minutes of the day, except this one. Find the gap.
The time is
No. 26
Solve for now
The time, as homework. The working is not shown.
The time is
No. 27
Sundial, with a sun you drag
The shadow tells the time from wherever you put the sun. Leave it alone and it’s right.
The time is
No. 28
Wind it by scrolling
Clockwork, honest but tired. Scroll to wind it.
The time is
No. 29
Shuffled dial
The numbers were put back in the wrong places. The hands know where they went.
The time is
No. 30
Installing today
Today is still installing. The estimate is doing its best.
The time is
No. 31
The lamp, in Morse
The lamp blinks the time in Morse code. It would rather stay on.
The time is
No. 32
Scratch card
The time is under the silver. Every minute is a new card.