BACK IN CHIME

Time for a Chime

Will the chimes live on in our collective memories?

screen capture by author — Zemeckis, R. (1985). Back to the Future. Universal Pictures.

Today’s Wordle has me thinking about alarm clocks. If you grew up in the 80’s, you know what song is about to play on the clock in the picture above. If not, find a streaming service that’s playing Back to the Future.

At some point in the history of people, we decided that we needed to wake up at a specific time that wasn’t based on the sunrise. We devised ways to do that before alarm clocks were a thing and we progressed to mechanical clocks, electric clocks, and finally to electronic clocks.

Does anybody have a device that isn’t their phone waking them up anymore?

I can remember alarm clocks with actual bells, and then a clock radio similar to the one above. And yes, now I use the alarm on my phone. It’s easy to control, easy to program, and reliable. And at some point the “melodious ringing sound” that defines a CHIME was replaced with music, or a repetitive electronic tune.

Will we eventually have no need for the word CHIME, just as we no longer have need for the device that created it in the first place?

For now, we at least can have it as a Wordle answer.

Thanks NYTCo Communications