Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
For the vast majority of human history, we’ve relied on the Sun to tell time – a reliably unreliable method, given the body’s tendency to disappear behind clouds and the horizon. This animation from the YouTube channel Deconstructed explores how, as ancient civilisations began to need more reliable timekeeping mechanisms, the technology took an extraordinary leap forward with the advent of dependable water clocks, which would remain the best technology available for the next 1,800 years. In particular, the video focuses on the engineering brilliance of a Greek inventor in Alexandria named Ctesibius who, in the 3rd century BCE, solved several mechanical riddles that had previously made water clocks’ measurements woefully imprecise. Through its detailed breakdown, the video makes the case that, more than just a major innovation in timekeeping, Ctesibius’s water clock was one of the world’s first automatically operating machines.
Video by Deconstructed
video
Engineering
Building a prosperous future demands bold ideas. These are some of the boldest
40 minutes
video
Environmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
video
Architecture
A 3D rendering of the Colosseum captures its architectural genius and symbolic power
17 minutes
video
Making
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes
video
Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
video
History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
A ceramicist puts her own bawdy spin on the folk language of pottery
14 minutes
video
Information and communication
‘Astonished and somewhat terrified’ – Victorians’ reactions to the phonograph
36 minutes
video
Engineering
From simple motors to levitating trains – how design shapes innovation
24 minutes