In Brief

New Watch Allows You To Count the Seconds Until You Die

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A new watch has put a whole new meaning on the phrase "death watch."

The Tikker is a watch that allows the morbid or motivated to count down the years, months, minutes and seconds they have until they die. The watch also has the handy function of keeping normal time.

Designers of the watch have so far raised more than $33,000 from 756 backers on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

Though the invention may sound depressing, the makers say their watch helps remind users to make the most of the 49 years, 10 months, two weeks, six days, 23 hours and 43 seconds…make that 42 seconds they have left. "If you knew how much time you had left, wouldn't you use that time wisely?" the designers ask on the webpage. The watch doesn't predict how much time people have until they shuffle off the mortal coil; the countdown is based on an estimate of life span .

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Tia Ghose
Tia Ghose
Managing Editor

Tia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.