The long history of waking people up before alarm clocks

In 19th-century China, people wedged incense sticks between their toes before bed — when the ember reached skin, they woke up. It was one of dozens of pre-alarm-clock wake-up methods, ranging from ingenious to painful, according to the BBC.

Ancient Chinese candle clocks had nails embedded at intervals that dropped into metal trays as the wax melted, clanking roughly every hour. — Read the rest

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