Local Dentist’s Waiting-Room Clock Now 59 Minutes Behind Reality, Declared ‘A Living Museum’

The waiting-room clock at Dr. Feldman’s dental practice, now running 59 minutes behind reality after a partially completed fall-back adjustment, has been declared ‘a living museum’ by the County Historical Society and placed under ‘do not touch’ orders.

‘The clock was set back 60 minutes, but the dentist’s assistant was interrupted by a patient emergency — a popcorn kernel — and the clock ended up 59 minutes behind,’ explained Historical Society curator Thaddeus Wren, 78. ‘It is now the most honest clock in the county. It admits it doesn’t know.’

The clock, a 1987 wall model with a second hand that ‘audibly judges you,’ has become a local attraction, with visitors stopping by to ‘experience the 59 minutes’ and take photos ‘in the past.’

Dr. Feldman has embraced the designation, offering ‘museum tours’ of the waiting room between appointments. ‘People used to dread the waiting room,’ he said. ‘Now they arrive early. They want to spend time in the past. Honestly, who doesn’t?’

The Historical Society has applied for grant funding to preserve the clock ‘in its current state of magnificent wrongness,’ and has proposed a plaque reading: ‘Here hangs a clock that tried. November 2026.’

Dr. Feldman’s assistant, whose popcorn-kernel interruption created the exhibit, has been credited as ‘the artist’ and will attend the plaque unveiling ‘if she’s not with a patient.’