When you want to know what time it is, where do you look?
Most likely, you tell time by clocks of some sort. But what if you told time by flowers, birds, or scents?
Huh?
Jay Griffiths, author of A Sideways Look at Time, writes about the many ways folks keep track of time around the world. She describes a “flower clock” planted by the famous scientist Carl Linnaeus, who planted flowers that open up at particular times of day: morning glories, evening primroses, and so forth. Just by visiting the garden, Linnaeus could tell what time of day it was.
She also mentions a “clock of birds.” Children in Papua, New Guinea, are taught when to head home by listening to the evening call of certain birds, thus avoiding a dangerous night in the forest.
How about a spice clock that gives you a different scent for each hour instead of displaying the time?
Now it’s your turn: How would you like to keep track of time? Invent a new way of telling time. In a paragraph or two, describe your new method and how it would work.
