May 28, 2005

SHAME?:

Big Ben's Silence Baffles Engineers (THOMAS WAGNER, 5/28/05, Associated Press)

Big Ben, the landmark London clock renowned for its accuracy and chimes, stopped ticking for 90 minutes, an engineer said Saturday.

Officials do not know why the 147-year-old clock on the banks of the River Thames stopped at 10:07 p.m. Friday


He must have heard they were disrespecting Lord Nelson.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 28, 2005 3:25 PM
Comments

Wagner's title reads correctly, but the quoted portion of the text of his article makes the common error that Big Ben refers to the clock. Big Ben refers to the huge bell in the Tower at Westminster. I believe the clock is supposed to be referred to as the clock of the Tower of Westminster.

Posted by: afh at May 28, 2005 5:15 PM

I believe that "Big Ben" refers to the clock's mechanism. I'll have to look it up.

Posted by: Dave W at May 30, 2005 8:37 AM
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