I am working on some very smart things to say here. Really. Meanwhile, there's 
The Big Sleep at NY Times
Until the 20th century, few people needed money. Apart from salt and iron, everything could be paid for in kind. Economic activity was more a means of making the time pass than of making money, which might explain why one of the few winter industries in the Alps was clock-making. Tinkering with tiny mechanisms made time pass less slowly, and the clocks themselves proved that it was indeed passing.The last bit is an astute observation! It could, of course, be completely wrong, but still..
Comments
The clock industry is Swiss, not French. And the cuckoo clock was invented in Schwartzwald, Germany.
Posted by: Lassi Hippeläinen | November 26, 2007 2:12 PM