5 Outrageous Alarm Clocks

These days, my alarm clock is my 2 ½ year old son. But I remember the days of beeps, radios and snooze buttons like it was, well, 10 minutes ago. But here are five crazy ways to wake up that I never imagined until I went researching stuff for a post you'll see later this week.

1. Match Alarm Clock

Built in 1877 by two brothers from Brooklyn, this whacky alarm gave new meaning to the phrase "when the clock strikes"¦" Because it quite literally, struck a match at the desired wake-up time. The match then swung around and lit an oil lamp, which brightened the room until the slumbering sleeper woke up, or, alternately burned to death.

2. Tugaslugabed

3. The Flying Alarm Clock

4. The Ticking Bomb Alarm Clock

1. Let's say you set your alarm for 8AM.
2. At 7:57AM, a recorded voice pipes up: "Three minutes left..." Then starts counting down to zero.
3. In the next few moments, one of the lamps on the left will flash at random. You must diffuse the same-colored wire in order to stop the bomb from ticking.
4. If you fail your mission, the explosion WILL go off. When the timer reaches zero, the speakers on this thing will emit a loud BANG, signifying your failure. If this was real life, the girl would be dead by now.

If you'd like to purchase the bomb, go here.

5. Clocky

Own a funky, unusual alarm clock I haven't mentioned? Tell us about it!

Keep up with all my posts via Twitter: @resila - and all our brilliant writers @mental_floss