Big Ben

There is a story of an American who took his son to London to show him the interesting sights of that historic city. During the tour, the father made sure to take him to Parliament and point out the huge clock on top of the building known as "Big Ben." The child strained to get a full view of the clock, and so did the others who came to see it. "Daddy, I would like to ask you something," said the boy. "Why did they put the clock so high and make people strain their necks to look up to it? Couldn't they have made the clock level with the eyes so that everyone could see it easily, without trouble?" The father thought for a moment and replied, "It is this way: If they had placed the clock low, people would adjust Big Ben to the time on their watches. Now that the clock is high, beyond the reach of all, they cannot try to reset it. If they want to have the correct time, they must set their own watches in accordance with the time shown by Big Ben."