Go Binary

Day 21: It is 8:13:47 by the clock, and as easily read as a standard 12-hour dial once you get the hang of it. The numbers are represented in binary, and the columns are read left to right, bottom to top. The bottom row is 1. The second row is 2. The third row is 4. The top row is 8. The lights indicate the classic yes/no of binary; thus if a light in the bottom row is lit, it equals 1. If another light is lit in the column above it, the value of that light is added; thus if lights in the first and third row are lit, but not the second, 1 + 4 = 5.

To read the time here, we have
0 lights in column 1 = 0
The 8 light in column 2 = 8
The 1 light in column 3 = 1
The 1 and 2 lights in column 4 = 3
The 4 light in column 5 = 4
The 1, 2 and 4 lights in column 6 = 7

See how easy that was?

I've had this little clock for years and prefer it to the regular dials. It's much easier to set if the power goes off.