Big Ben, London’s Heart Skip Beat
The four clock faces on Big Ben clanked to a halt for three hours Friday, and London’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
The government agency that services Big Ben and other state buildings throughout the country said the clock stopped at 11:07 a.m. and was out of action until about 2:15 p.m.
A spokeswoman for the Property Services Agency, speaking anonymously, said the cogs that advance the clock’s hands were unable to turn even though the pendulum continued to swing. She could not explain what caused the malfunction.
Big Ben is the name of the 13 1/2-ton bell, which chimes out the hours from behind the clock faces.
Stoppages are rare for the giant 131-year-old clock tower, which has survived pollution, foul weather and war. The British Broadcasting Corp. uses the chimes to introduce its 6 p.m. and midnight newscasts, taking the sound live by microphone from the tower. Its other newscasts use the atomic clock at Greenwich.
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