Panchronia

The Oxford Electric Bell

◍ Open on the globe

1840 · Oxford · Europe · Science

Ringing non-stop since 1840 on its original batteries

The Oxford Electric Bell
DavidCWG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In Oxford's Clarendon Laboratory a bell has been running on dry piles since 1840, ringing an estimated 10 billion times. You can't hear it through the glass, and no one knows exactly what the batteries contain, since nobody wants to open them.

State: Kingdom of Great Britain, British Empire

Did you know

A bell in Oxford has been ringing since 1840, and nobody dares find out what powers it. Its dry piles have driven some 10 billion rings, and opening them would end one of the longest-running experiments ever. Share →

Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)

Eastern Europe & Russia

Middle East

Africa

Asia

Americas

Oceania

Alive at the time