The Ingenious Clock System That Synchronized an Entire City

🕒Before accurate electrical clocks, timekeeping was unreliable and clocks would slowly drift out of sync.

🔩The clock system in Paris used bursts of air to synchronize time, allowing clocks all over the city to be in perfect sync.

⏰The master clock in the system ran 24/7 without going out of sync, ensuring precise timekeeping.

💨Compressed air was sent through underground pipes to reach clocks throughout the city, keeping them all in sync.

🏙️The clock system was implemented in various locations, including hotels, train stations, houses, schools, and public streets.

Why did the clocks in Paris stop at 10:50 during the flood?

—The underground clock system used bursts of air to synchronize time. The flash flood caused chaos and disrupted the air supply, resulting in the clocks stopping.

How did the clock system synchronize time?

—The master clock in Paris sent out bursts of air every minute, which traveled through underground pipes to reach clocks throughout the city, ensuring they all displayed the same time.

Who created the clock system in Paris?

—The clock system was created by Austrian engineer Victor Popp in 1880. His genius system used bursts of air to synchronize time and was implemented all over the city.

How did the clock system reset itself?

—The clock system had a built-in mechanism that allowed it to reset itself. Compressed air would be sent back into the clock, raising levers attached to the clock systems and resetting the weights.

Where can the signs of the clock system be found in Paris?

—Although the clock system is no longer in operation, signs of where the clocks once stood can still be found throughout Paris.

00:00In 1910, a flash flood in Paris caused chaos and almost all the clocks in the city stopped at exactly 10:50.

02:10The clock system in Paris used bursts of air to synchronize time and kept thousands of clocks all over the city in perfect sync.

04:32The master clock in the system ran 24/7 without going out of sync, ensuring precise timekeeping for the entire city.

05:42Compressed air was sent through underground pipes to reach clocks in different districts of Paris, ensuring they all displayed the same time.

07:39Despite being damaged in the great flood of 1910, the clock system continued to work for almost 50 years until accurate electronic clocks replaced it.