World's First Talking Clock Turns 80

The world's oldest talking clock, housed in the Paris Observatory, has just turned 80.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Technology

Topics

Technology

Places

France, Paris

Transcript

SCRIPT UPSOUND talking clock "at the fourth tone (sound) it will be 17 hours and 18 minutes." At the Paris Observatory the right time has been measured and broadcast for 80 years since the invention of the talking clock, the world's first. SOUNDBITE 1 Noël Dimarcq, Director, SYRTE research centre (French, 19 sec): "Before that time loads of people called the Paris Observatory to get the right time and that was a big problem for staff and phone lines. In 1929 the director, Ernest Esclangon, was tired of seeing all his phone lines clogged up and decided to develop an automated system." On Valentine's day in 1933 this machine announced first the time. Its voice was that of Marcel Laporte, also known as Radiolo, at the time the most famous announcer on Radio Paris. UPSOUND Talking Clock in 1933: "au 4e top, il sera... " Over the past 80 years the Observatory's clocks have made great technological strides. Their atomic precision has reduced the margin of error to one millionth of a second. A gender policy shift was 60 years in coming. SOUNDBITE 2 Noël Dimarcq, Director, SYRTE research centre (French, 8 sec): "The time is now given by a male AND a female voice. (UPSOUND female voice : "11h, 24 mn 10 sec") this is a good example. Today smartphones and the internet give the time with great precision. So who still (calls 3699)/phones in just to know what time it is? SOUNDBITE 3 - Michel Abgrall, Director, French time reference service (French, 20 sec) "By definition we don't have a good profile of the people calling the talking clock. We don't know much about them. There are ordinary people and companies. There are probably also some machines out there who use the clock to synchronise their time. We estimate the talking clock still gets a million calls per year." Each call to the talking clock costs 56 euro cents. Money that's helped to keep alive the clock for 2-billion-254 million-and-608-thousand seconds, and counting. SHOTLIST DATE: Feb 5 and 8, 2013 LOCATION: PARIS SOURCE: AFPTV except where stated. - CU fingers dialling talking clock number - SCU Young woman on phone - VAR Paris Observatory from outside - CU 1933 clock SOUNDBITE 1 - VAR 1933 clock - CU 1930s clockwork - VAR photos of Radiolo / NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES - UPSOUND 1930s clock: Source Syrte / NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES - CU 1933 clock - Panshot 1933 clock - VAR man opens door to research centre - VAR laboratory SOUNDBITE 2 - SWide Michel Abgrall in control room of French time reference service - VAR control room - SOUNDBITE 3 - VAR control centre - CU digital time display