Clock Hands Back on Healy Tower After Theft


Someone stole the hands of the clock, facing east, on Georgetown University’s Healy Tower last week, prompting an online posting of a picture of the hands-free clock with the accompanying words, “Timeless Tradition.” Of late, this dangerous prank occurs almost every year after a break that began in the 1990s.

Yet, within two days, the hands were back on the clock after university workers put replacement hands on it. This time, it seems the university was ready.

“We secured a set of hands in 2012,” the university’s spokesperson Rachel Pugh told the student newspaper, the Hoya. “The condition of the clock facing Healy Lawn permitted us to install new hands today while the scheduled repair was underway.” Pugh declined to reveal the cost of the clock fix. The Hoya added: “In addition to replacing the hands of the clock facing Healy Lawn, the university had the hands of the side of the clock facing Dahlgren Quad removed today as part of scheduled maintenance.”

The investigation into the theft continues by the campus police.

No word on whether or not the thieves plan to mail the lifted hands to the Vatican, as others threatened in the past. In 1989, the year of the university’s bicentennial, student mischief led to the hands being delivered to the White House. The Secret Service returned them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *