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Mercator's World MERCATOR'S WORLD The Magazine of Maps, Exploration, and Discovery Time may be a psychological construct, but it¡¯s easy to think of it spatially ¡ª as in watching the sun, moon, and stars cross the sky. The patterns of these celestial bodies provide perhaps our oldest clocks. In today¡¯s time-obsessed society, we barely take the time to look at the sun, moon, and stars ¡ª much less to chart them. And though the Internet, overnight mail, fax machines, and supersonic jets create the illusion that the world has shrunk, the earth¡¯s rotation remains as methodical and regular as it was at the dawn of the first millennium. Enter the Geochron, a product that combines the demands of the global economy with the charm of age-old stargazing. This high-end clock was the brainchild of James Kilburg, a native of Luxembourg who also is credited with such intriguing inventions as the automated maraschino cherry pitter and the car cigarette lighter. In 1962, when Kilburg was visiting relatives back home, his wife telephoned from the States. It was 2 A.M. The groggy incident gave Kilburg the inspiration for Geochron ¡ª a timepiece that delineates the sun¡¯s passage across the earth. Geochron is basically a wall-mounted map (reproduced from a U.S. Naval Oceanographic Chart) that shows with parts of the world are dark and which are light at any given moment. The light pattern changes with the seasons: bell shapes during the solstics and straight rectangles of light during the equinoxes. Thus, the Geochron indicates sunrise and sunset times across the globe not only by longitude but also by latitude. It keeps track of the twenty-four standard time zones, as well as sixteen nonstandard ones, and displays the date, day of the week, and passing minutes. Geochron comes in several models ranging in price from ¡ª are you ready? ¡ª $1,415 to $2,495. But it really is more than a timepiece. It¡¯s also an art piece and a conversation piece. And, the company reminds us, Geochron has become an icon for the wealthy and well-traveled. (For the not-so-wealthy and deskbound, there is the Geochron screensaver [World Watch], not quite as cool but much more moderately priced at $59.95.) Mercator¡¯s World publisher Edward D. Aster, who travel widely, says he often uses his Geochron for reference. Even in an age of ultraprecise, instant, and varied ways of measuring minutes, seconds, and milliseconds (for a listing of these, see: www.treasuretroves.com/astro/Time.html light¡¯s progress still may be the most innate way to tell what time it is. For about one fifth of the cost, you can get a more straightforward product from SeaCo Enterprises called Maps&Time: decorative clocks mounted above a three dimensional, raised-relief wall map. The central clock tells the hour in more than forty different cities. It is surrounded by six other decorative quartz clocks athat display times in New York, Rio de Janeiro, London, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo (though these must be reset for Daylight Savings). You can get a United States map as well showing six U.S. time zones, including those of Alaska and Hawaii. There is really no comparison here with the Geochron, but if you like the juxtaposition of maps and time, Maps&Time offer an interesting way to decorate your wall and to keep track of the hour in Luxembourg. |
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