As far as anyone knows, the first (sort of) alarm clock was invented in 222 BC by a guy named Ctesibius who decided one day to modify his clepsydra, a device otherwise known to us moderns as a water clock. With his adjustments, the clepsydra would drop pebbles or even blow trumpets when the water reached a certain flow. The only trouble was that Ctesibius wasn’t sure just what to do with his noisy clock.
Many years and missed appointments later, Levi Hutchins invented the first modern-day alarm clock in 1787 — and those gradually developed through the years into what we have today.
And what we have now is no shortage of choice: To get us up and running we have ersatz suns, gentle nature sounds, clocks to shake the daylights into us, clocks to shock the heck out of us, and even wheeled robot clocks to annoy us out of bed.
A lunar projection
La Crosse Technology 616-146A Color LCD Projection 5-Inch Alarm Clock with Moon Phase – $45.79, Amazon
A couple of quick Questions: Do you absolutely hate being late for anything — even just a minute? Are you into astronomy? Or do you insist on starting your day with the weather forecast?
This atomic projection alarm clock ticks all those boxes and then some. The ultra-punctual among us will love that it’s atomic, which tracks time down to absurdly tiny fractions of a second. There’s visual display involved as well: One setting makes it project the time and indoor temperature on your wall or ceiling, along with the phases of the moon.
A shocking start
Pavlok Shock Clock 2 – $149.99, Amazon
Pavlok labels this wearable device as a “wakeup trainer” for folks whose ultimate goal is to jettison their alarm clocks, which is both accurate and also slightly euphemistic. One of Pavlock’s selling claims is you’ll “Never Hit Snooze Again.” Can you guess why? When you dare to oversleep your wakeup time, your wrist device corrects your attitude by shocking the crap out of you — but hey, it has a solid four stars.
Wake up with white noise
Sound Soother White Noise Machine – $79.99, Sharper Image
If you can’t fall asleep in the …….
Source: https://www.sfgate.com/shopping/article/quirky-but-effective-alarm-clocks-16701416.php