The passage of time is often portrayed in a poetic light. We talk of “spending” time as though it’s currency in our hands. But the reality is that time marches on regardless of how we choose to use it. New York designer Che-Wei Wang has beautifully illustrated the inevitable passage of time with this timepiece which he calls “3.16 Billion Cycles.”

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The clock runs on a 60-RPM (rotations per minute) motor, causing the smallest piece to rotate once a second. The next piece rotates every five seconds. Subsequent pieces rotate every minute, five minutes, hour, day, month, year and decade. The large arc around the outside of the piece is controlled by the decade pulley. The arc will rotate once a century. When it does, the arc will fall off of its track, effectively marking the end of the clock’s life. From the first second to the last of the 100 years, the ratio between the 60-RPM motor and the large arc is 1:31.6 billion.

The clock is part of Wang’s “Time in Six Parts” series. His goal is to change people’s perceptions of time, to get spectators to slightly shift their perspective. The clock breaks down a century – a period of time difficult for most people to fathom – into much more easily digestible bits.

A lot of us underestimate just how important a good night’s sleep is. Without the seven to eight hours of nightly shuteye that experts recommend, our cognitive function decreases rapidly. What’s more, sleep deprivation has even been linked to type 2 diabetes and coronary artery calcification. These are pretty major consequences for skipping sleep, something that most people see as harmless. The Zeo alarm clock aims to keep people healthy by giving a daily report on how well the user sleeps.

The main premise of the clock is that it tracks how much time is spent in each stage of sleep. The user wears a thin headband all night which conveys information about their sleep cycles to the clock. In the morning, the data is displayed on the clock unit, including a unique “sleep score.” The clock even has an option that will analyze the user’s optimum waking point, waking them up just when they will be the least groggy.

What’s even cooler about the Zeo is that you can upload the data from the clock unit to the company’s “sleep coaching” website. If you pay for personal sleep coaching, you’ll receive personalized information on how your activities, diet and sleep environment are affecting your nightly Zs. While it won’t help you fall asleep or stay asleep, using the Zeo may just help you identify your particular sleep problems.

Just when we think that nothing new can be done with clocks, someone else makes a wicked cool new one that makes us stand up and pay attention. This awesome bamboo soil clock comes to us from Dutch designer Marieke Staps, and all it asks for from you is two potted plants and some moisture. The designer says that the biological processes in the soil produce enough bacteria to power the clock. We have to wonder if it’s the plants providing these processes, or the dirt itself. Because we can think of some people who would kill those plants within days, but watering pots of dirt would probably be possible. Regardless, Inhabitat (which sells the clock in their store) says that you can use any two plants to provide electricity for this super-cool clock.

The clock itself, excluding the electrodes and wires, is made of bamboo, which is an extremely renewable, sustainable material. And unlike some science-project-type timepieces (we’re looking at you, potato clock), this one is actually quite attractive. You just push the zinc and copper electrodes down into the dirt of your two potted plants and make sure to keep those plants watered. Just don’t use vegetables or herbs: the zinc electrode degrades into the dirt in time and you don’t want that coming up in your tarragon.

Aren’t you tired of all of those numbers cluttering up your clock’s face? Then it’s about time you got the Qlocktwo by Biegert & Funk, because it’s got none of that nonsense. It spells out the time in clear, plain English…or German, if you prefer. The sleek acrylic face features lines of letters that spell out the time in five-minute increments, and four dots in the corners let you know exactly what time it is, down to the minute.

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At 885 Euro ,the clock, handmade in Germany, comes with some pretty awesome features like a time-signal receiver so you never have to set it, and automatic daylight saving time adjustments. You can choose between several colors to match the rest of your room. It even senses ambient light and adjusts itself accordingly. The design is very cool and, we must admit, pretty original.

Faceless, Handless Clock Tells Time With Light Beams

When off, the Good Afternoon Clock looks like nothing more than a plastic circle hanging on the wall with a cord attached. But when it’s on, it becomes a beautifully simple clock that tells time with thin beams of white light coming from the ring and shining inward. The lights tell hours, minutes and seconds in the most clutter-free clock display ever. The delicate and ephemeral nature of the light beams may well be a comment on time itself: it is fluid, fleeting and

The Good Afternoon Clock was created by the MILE Project, a group of three friends who met at the University of Tsukuba. The software engineer, acoustic engineer and interior designer all bring their own unique talents to each project they embark on, and the Good Afternoon Clock is just one of their fascinating and beautiful designs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this particular design is being produced for purchase at this time.

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