An organization known as The Long Now Foundation is currently building a 10,000-year clock beneath a remote mountain in Texas. The Foundation intends the clock to symbolize a different way of thinking, one that clashes with the modern, fast-paced mindset, as well as serve as a monument to inspire future generations with the power of the “long now”.
Designed to ‘tick’ once per year, ‘bong’ once a century and send out its cuckoo once a millennium, the clock will be powered by thermal energy and measure roughly 200 ft (60 m) tall once completed.
“When I was a child, people used to talk about what would happen by the year 02000…now no one mentions a future date at all,” said Danny Hillis, founding board member of The Long Now Foundation. “The future has been shrinking by one year per year for my entire life. I think it is time for us to start a long-term project that gets people thinking past the mental barrier of an ever-shortening future.”
A number of major figures such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have become supporters of the clock. The latter of whom has invested $42 million dollars in the project.
In an interview with The Hustle, project lead Alexander Rose has said that the process of installation and commissioning will take at least two more years and that the Foundation isn’t ready to release a final completion date for the project.
To learn more about the 10,000-year clock, click the link below.
