Clock Escapements and Society.

Invention of escapement made clocks reliable time keepers.

The second verge pendulum clock built by Christiaan Huygens, inventor of the pendulum clock, 1673. Huygens claimed an accuracy of 10 seconds per day. In a pendulum clock, the verge escapement is turned 90 degrees so that the crown wheel faces up (top). By Christiaan Huygens — Retrieved June 27, 2008 from Harold C. Kelly (2007) Clock Repairing as a Hobby: A How-To Guide for Beginners, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN:160239153X, p.38, fig.13 on Google Books, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4286889.

Verge escapement showing {c} crown wheel, {v} verge, {p, q} pallets. Downloaded from Henry Evers (1874), A Handbook of Applied Mechanics, William Collins & Sons, London, fig.58, p.153. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.

Sipping coffee,
Old wall clock
ticking and tocking,
Keeps good time
thank goodness,
Regulates coffee breaks,
Ticking came from
escapement…