I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck was hanging on the "Nightwatchman"s belt that needed a turn of the key that was hanging in the morgue. It apparently was done after every time rounds were completed.
Some sort of recording device, maybe?
Yes, exactly. It was a method of ensuring that the night watchman made his rounds every hour. The old nightwatchman explains the process when he is showing Martin around the building at the beginning of the film.
"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the nuthin'..."
It is called a Detex clock. It has a strip of paper that is moved by the built in mechanical clock movement. Each station has a numbered key that stamps the paper showing the hourly round was made. The key is on a chain to prevent the guard from going around and collecting all the keys on the first round and just put them in a pile in the office and then return them at the end of the shift. If it was a 8 hour shift that would mean the guard only did two rounds instead of 8. New units are fully electronic and download to a computer.
shareI used to work security at a fabrication plant and we'd have to go to each gate and key one of those clocks every couple of hours or so. I haven't worked security in a long time...the pay is always terrible no matter what site you're on. But I remember those key clocks.
shareYes I worked security once- most use computerized wands that download the data (times recorded onto the wand). I worked in an old building that was for the most part vacant at night. You could hear the strangest sounds from the building & you didn't want to think about it too much (b/c I was the only guard there on the shift). Your mind can cause you to freak out in an old darkened building with lots of old equipment around, especially if it's storming. It's always best to have a radio (as the old guard suggested).
sharei worked security too, at a rr depot that dealt with new vehicles. we used to make th first round, collecting the keys, then chill for the next 8 hours, clocking them from the guard shack :P
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