#mechanical marvels

[mahgnib]

Beginning operating on this date in 1884, the first switchback railway built specifically for entertainment rather than for more practical purposes

[h3x-code-x]

Mew's tail! She's working! I did it!

[charlesreeza]

One of the treasures of Beauvais Cathedral is this mind-boggling astronomical clock built between 1865 and 1868 by Lucien Auguste Vérité, a watchmaker from Beauvais. It is 40 feet high and 20 feet wide. It has 52 dials that display the times of the rising and setting sun and moon, the position of the planets, the current time in 18 cities around the world, and the tidal times. It also provides the information used to determine the date of Easter each year.

In the ‘celestial city’ at the top, the Last Judgement is enacted by automatons every hour.  At the same time, the ‘terrestrial city’ is represented in the many windows of the turreted edifice below. The figures depict people of many nations and various professions, including, of course, a watchmaker.

On the side of the case there is a landscape of Mont Saint Michel with moving waves that show the tide rising and falling. The dial above that shows the date of the last solar eclipse in Beauvais.

Entrance to the cathedral is free, but there is a fee to watch the performance of the clock with an accompanying video. I happily paid the fee. It was amazing.

Photos by Charles Reeza

[h3x-code-x]

It seems I am going to need to do a lot of tweaking for magearna's prosthetics. She is being very vocal that she is uncomfortable. I am trying my best sweetie, i'm still trying to figure out what is more comfortable for you.

[h3x-code-x]

Magearna is wandering around my workshop picking up items looking at them and then putting them back down.

[h3x-code-x]

Magearna is wandering around my workshop picking up items looking at them and then putting them back down.

[h3x-code-x]

Cute! Where did you find it?

I found her in a scrapyard in alola last summer, I've been working on her since.

[h3x-code-x]

What's working?