Amazon CEO looks to tell 10,000 years of time
The Great Pyramid of Giza is about 4,500 years old. Amazon's CEO is funding the creation of a clock that will last twice as long.
June 24th, 2011
12:17 PM ET

Amazon CEO looks to tell 10,000 years of time

Just as the pharaohs and emperors of Ancient Egypt and Rome live on in the structures they left behind, one CEO of the Information Age may be known for leaving behind a piece of our time.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is funding the creation of a clock that will run for 10,000 years, according to a Wired magazine article. The clock will overlook the Blue Origin Spaceport in Van Horn, Texas, a private space venture in which Bezos has invested. He said his intention for the clock is to encourage long-term thinking.

To view the clock, visitors will descend 500 feet into the mountain where it is housed. In order to see the clock in its entirety, a visitor will need to view it in individual parts, climbing the mountain to finally see the face at the top, Wired reports. By turning a wheel, visitors will cause the clock to automatically advance to that particular moment in time, so it will always read the time of its last visit. A 6-foot, 300-pound titanium pendulum will allow the clock to tick every 10 seconds.

Bezos told Wired that he has budgeted about $42 million for the project.

To put this timepiece in perspective, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that is still standing,  is about 4,500 years old, having been around half as long as the clock is projected to last.

“Over the lifetime of this clock, the United States won’t exist,” Bezos said to Wired. “Whole civilizations will rise and fall. New systems of government will be invented. You can’t imagine the world — no one can — that we’re trying to get this clock to pass through.”

Thousands of years from now, in a region that will have been formerly known as "West Texas," civilizations of the future will still hear the heartbeat of our era ticking every 10 seconds.

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Filed under: Technology • Texas • U.S. • Uncategorized
soundoff (100 Responses)
  1. smilin jim

    Thanks for the funny comments. (I only have 41m.funny.) I'm poor as a church mouse, can't even buy socks on Amazon, but a good laugh is free.

    June 25, 2011 at 2:57 am | Report abuse |
  2. xero

    you people are rediculous! oh he can save the world or feed the children with the money! he makes millions of money every year and donates millions to charities. who cares if he was to buy a $42 million clock?! yeah its dumb but he can do what he wants! i would love to be able to build something that would last that long! then my name would be known for thousands of years too! smart guy!

    June 25, 2011 at 2:59 am | Report abuse |
  3. Beefburger

    Don't worry, it will be blasted apart by some future cannon. Like the nose of the Sphynx was blasted off by Napoleon and the Hindu shrine statues in Afghanistan were blasted apart by Taliban tanks.

    All in all, a pretty worthless but expensive ego trip. Pharaoh Bezos wants his name enshrined on an obilisk, just remember Mr Bezos, other pharaohs chipped out previous names and replaced them with their own.

    June 25, 2011 at 6:49 am | Report abuse |
  4. tess

    I wonder how much he plans on charging people to see the time? What about earth quakes... tornatoes... forrest fires... security... ect.. If it were to get bomed... how many would die? How many dead children

    June 25, 2011 at 10:31 am | Report abuse |
  5. RUFFNUTT

    how long does it take to wind up this clock?

    June 25, 2011 at 10:48 am | Report abuse |
  6. Ram C

    Of all the vain and moronic things to do, this takes the cake.

    June 25, 2011 at 1:45 pm | Report abuse |
  7. ken

    I'm laying bets that humans as a species won't even be around in 10,000 years.

    June 25, 2011 at 6:21 pm | Report abuse |
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