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Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17985, 2 April 1930, Page 10

Big Ben, the wonderful bell in the clock tower of the British House of Parliament, Westminster, London, is becoming still more widely known now Lliat it broadcasts each day. Each face of the clock is 22 feet across; each figure on the faces is two feet high; and the minute hands are each 14 feet in length, and weigh 2ewt. Every time the minute hand moves it has to jump a foot! The clock is checked twice daily by wireless with Greenwich time, and, although it is well over 50 years old, it is hardly ever fcimd lo have »Tried by a second from the correct time. The clock runs eight and a-half days, requiring about 20 minutes for winding each week, while the striking apparatus is wound by two men Hiree times a week, taking five hours to wind. The bell—Big Ben—lias been ringing since 1838,