When I was a kid, we had a great big grandfather clock in our house and always knew the time by counting its bell-chimes. The Audocron is a clock that operates much the same way, though it's missing something a grandfather clock has — a clock face.

The chrome Audocron uses beeps at three different pitches — for hours, tens of minutes, and minutes — to let you know what time it is. You can set the Audocron to chime every hour, or set it to manual so that it will beep at your touch. Its presentation is more than spare, looking like a silver doorknob with a small band that flashes when the Audocron beeps. A cool design, but just hope it's not 12:59 when you're in a hurry as you'll be standing there for a while.

The Audocron isn't priced as a novelty, at least — you can get one for only $20. Click through for a video of the doorknob in action. — Kevin Hall

Think Geek, via Technabob