A very 2020s alarm clock

A combination of '70s, 2010s and 2020s all wrapped into one.

There is a plain black version of this clock, but c'mon, you gotta love the wood grain. The kitschy aesthetic of this just cannot be denied.

I'll start with the features first.

Dimmable display, dual alarms with separated weekend/weekday/7-day settings, 5 alarm tones including radio, FM radio, battery backup, USB ports in the front, current indoor temperature at bottom right, weekday displayed at top right.

As for the rest of it, what we have here is a '70s style wood grain mashed against a 2010s style display with 2020s features. Very cheesy design...

...and I love it.

I don't know exactly when faux wood grain started appearing on everything, but there was this span of time from around 1975 to 1990 where you saw it a lot. Fake wood grain was especially seen on alarm clocks and televisions. When the '90s rolled around, all the grain went away in favor of solid no-pattern colors.

Now in the 2020s, faux wood grain has come around full circle due to the fact it's so old it's new again.

Because I'm middle aged, I remember back when fake wood grain was a new thing and see it now as a retro callback of sorts. For somebody half my age, they just see the grain as a new style. And that's fine.

My favorite part of the clock is that the manufacturer even wood-grained the big snooze button. That's just funny.

Published 2023 Apr 25