This Display Randomly Selects and Couples Two Four-Letter Words

Some time way back in 2012, WhiskeyTangoHotel built a four-letter word clock, simply because an eight-character seven-segment display unit was found on a site called DealExtreme.com for $4.99. Rather than let it sit in a parts bin like many other deals that were “too good to pass up,” this hacker devised a four-letter word clock using a PICAXE 18M2 for control, along with an RTC module and EEPROM chip. The clock displayed the time in a 24-hour format with the first four characters, and a random four-letter words in the second. Eight LEDs underneath ticked away the seconds and a relay provided a nice metronome sound.

Now nearly eight years later, after getting tired of pushing a few buttons twice a year to account for daylight savings time, the clock has been revised to a random double four-letter word display. With 1,002 four-letter words loaded into the device’s memory, it can now show over a million combinations of words, few of which would be considered rude.

While the time isn’t on display per se, desktop clocks seem to be more of a suggestion these days, and after getting your dose of random wordiness, you can just look at your phone or computer. Blinking LEDs are still available to count up the seconds, and the RTC module is no longer implemented — it’s not as if seeing the wrong random word will make you late for an appointment!

The original clock can be seen below, followed by the current double-word version.