London's Big Ben, the world's most recognizable clock, seemingly threw a tantrum when it went out of sync by about six seconds, according to a report from The Sun.
BBC 4 radio programming has been timing their live broadcasts with the 156-year-old clock and they were the first to suffer as the problem caused interruptions. Mechanics immediately went up the Elizabeth Tower to make the necessary adjustments but after they did, the clock slowed down instead. The clock's speed is adjusted by adding weights to the pendulum. Clocksmith Ian Westworth said: "When we started correcting it, it corrected itself at the same time so we went from being fast to being slow. It's settled down telling you exactly the right time so no-one will talk over our chimes."
Westworth said the Great Clock became "temperamental" and admitted they have no clue why it happened. He surmised it had something to do with the clock's age. "Imagine running your car for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the last 156 years," he said.
In another report on the incident by BBC News, officials say the normal parameter for the Big Ben is to be within two seconds of the exact time. It was discovered that the clock became delayed on August 15 and 16. Westworth mentioned that as early as August 17, the problem was already detected and necessary fix were made. Unfortunately, the adjustments made the clock run faster several times when they were testing it out.
The standard schedule for clock maintenance is three times a week which has been bumped up to daily to keep it accurate. A parliament official commented that temperature and air pressure can affect the escapement mechanism of the clock as well as its gears.
The House of Commons said the clock is now back to being accurate to less than one second after the adjustments which include adding or removing old penny coins.
