Big Ben Has Been Ringing Early For Weeks And Nobody Noticed

Found yourself inexplicably late for the last two weeks? Well, if you’re a Londoner, you could probably blame it all on Big Ben's chimes.

In what’s the worst excuse ever given for tardiness, the infamous Great Clock has been out by around six seconds on a daily basis for the last few weeks due to the old mechanics being “temperamental”, according to clocksmith Ian Westworth.

So far the resulting out of time chimes have caused interruptions to BBC Radio 4 who broadcast the sound of Big Ben live.

The 156-year old clock controls its speed by adding and removing the weights of it’s pendulum; earlier tweaks to the speed had led to the giant timepiece running slowly.

Westworth, who works on the clock of Elizabeth Tower with two other dedicated clocksmiths, said the issues were likely due to its age: “It does have a little fit every now and then… imagine running your car for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the last 156 years.”

Better start getting your excuses to your boss now before they fix it.

[Via: BBC]