13 Alarm Clocks That Only Worked Half the Time
Here's a look back at alarm clocks that were more frustrating than helpful.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
Not all alarm clocks lived up to their promise of getting people out of bed. Some were too quiet or just plain unreliable. Here are 13 alarm clocks that made waking up a gamble every single morning.
1. Wind-Up Bell Clocks
Santeri Viinamäki on Wikimedia Commons
Classic twin-bell alarms were dependable in theory but demanded nightly attention to keep ticking. Their metallic ring could wake the dead, yet one missed wind left you oversleeping and wondering why the “reliable” clock betrayed you.
2. Glow-in-the-Dark Clocks
Arma95 on Wikimedia Commons
These looked magical glowing softly in the dark, but that faint light often faded long before morning. By the time you needed to check the time or wake up, the glow, and your chances of punctuality, were both gone.
3. Projection Clocks
Hadley Paul Garland on Flickr
The idea of projecting time on your ceiling sounded futuristic and convenient at first glance. However, if the display was misaligned or too dim, you’d end up staring at warped numbers while the alarm quietly failed beside you.
4. Novelty Shape Clocks
favor li on Flickr
Whether shaped like animals, cartoon characters, or guitars, these clocks focused more on fun than function. They brightened a kid’s nightstand for a while but usually broke before they proved themselves as actual alarms.
5. CD Player Alarm Clocks
Ben and Asho on Flickr
Waking up to your favorite track instead of a harsh beep felt revolutionary, at least until the CD jammed or skipped endlessly. Half the time, the alarm didn’t trigger correctly, leaving you late with a song stuck in your head.
6. Flip Clocks
Leo Kan on Flickr
The flipping panels gave them retro charm and hypnotic movement, but the mechanics weren’t always reliable. Gears jammed, flaps stuck, and alarms sometimes froze mid-flip, turning punctual mornings into accidental sleep-ins.
7. Talking Alarm Clocks
Joe Shlabotnik on Flickr
Their robotic voices announcing the time seemed high-tech for their day, until the batteries started failing mid-sentence. Between random glitches and eerie late-night “time updates,” they became more nightmare fuel than morning aid.
8. Travel Alarm Clocks
Ricky Thakrar on Flickr
Compact and foldable, these alarm clocks seemed perfect for trips, but they had alarms that were too soft for deep sleepers. They were easy to pack and forget, often ticking quietly while travelers missed breakfast entirely.
9. Radio Alarm Clocks
DRAGONBALLXYZ on Wikimedia Commons
Tuning in to your favorite morning show was great until static took over or the signal dropped out completely. If the volume knob was touchy, you either woke to deafening noise or absolute silence — never in between.
10. Puzzle Alarm Clocks
SpinningSpark on Wikimedia Commons
These forced you to solve a puzzle to stop the alarm, turning wake-up time into a mental challenge. But when the parts jammed or batteries drained mid-puzzle, frustration replaced clever design fast, which is not really a great way to start your day.
11. Sunrise Alarm Clocks
Joe Haupt on Flickr
Promising a gentle, natural wake-up, these slowly brightened the room like a sunrise simulation. Unfortunately, most sleepers stayed in dreamland, proving that artificial sunshine doesn’t always outshine a loud buzzer.
12. Smartphone Dock Clocks
FOX ^.ᆽ.^= ∫ on Pexels
These clocks combined an alarm, a charger, and a speaker; they seemed like the ultimate bedside gadget, when they actually worked. A slightly misaligned phone or frozen app meant silence where your wake-up call should’ve been.
13. Flying Alarm Clocks
Tony DiGirolamo on Flickr
Their propellers launched across the room, forcing you to chase them down to stop the noise. However, after a few crashes, the fragile mechanism broke, leaving you with a grounded gadget and the same old snooze problem.