My body stops watches.
My body has stopped watches all my life. My mother has told me that she thinks it’s some kind of static electricity or electrical energy I emit, because it happened even when I was a little girl, with every watch I’ve ever worn. I was content to be watchless for most of my 30-odd years (that’s how old I will be for the rest of my life; 15 is an odd number) until last year, when I became an EMT. Now I need to wear a watch, so that I may take a person’s pulse on emergency calls, but the first three watches I bought died immediately. They were cheap, but were supposed to be waterproof, shatterproof, etc. Then I bought a pricier watch that you are supposed to be able to wear scuba diving. Completely stopped the second day I wore it.
I bought another watch – a Swatch – last week. Dead today.
I just did a Google search to see if there is any credence to the idea that it might be something in my body that is making this happen and I was rather happy to discover that there are a whole tribe of us watch-stoppers. If you type “my body stops” into the Google search bar, “watches” is automatically filled in. There are a great number of forums on the web devoted to this.
Why does my body stop a watch? According to the internet, it may be that I have especially high levels of electrical energy in my body, as my mother suspected (if I grew up in your house, you would suspect this too). Or, there might be something weird about my body’s “magnetism.” There are all sorts of theories and pseudo-scientific explanations for why some of us stop watches on the web, but I think I finally hit on the answer, when I came across this post:
I break watches. They usually stop running entirely, and cannot be repaired with a battery change. Sometimes they slow before stopping, other times the second hand seems caught at 11 o’clock for a while before the watch expires.
I used to wonder if it was a body chemistry thing. In my older age I’ve found out I’m exceptionally clumsy or not mindful of what I’m doing. I get stuff wet and smash my hands into things much more often than my husband, siblings or coworkers. I’ve always got random bruises. My rings especially show the wear and tear of someone who uses and abuses her hands.
I think that has much more to do with it than any particular chemistry or field thing.
Wow. I get stuff wet and smash my hands into things all the time too! I’m clumsy and use and abuse my hands all the time!
I break watches. Not sure how this knowledge solves my problem, but I feel much better.
Hello Ann! And a belated Happy Birthday!
Any thoughts on buying a mechanical watch? Cartier makes some lovely ones! Or should I pass this hint on to Denis!
Anyway, all my best!
Ann, that is a strange phenomenon. Maybe you should attach a sun dial to the top of your head. That way you can not only save a life, but attend a royal wedding.
Ais, that’s an interesting (not to mention stylish) solution to Ann’s dilemma, but I can envision two problems with your suggestion:
(1) It works only during daylight hours.
(2) Ann won’t be able to read the sundial if it’s attached to the top of her head.
Otherwise, I think you might be on to something (not “on something” although that’s entirely possible, too).
Excellent points, Alan. I always need a good yin for my yang, or is it yang for my yin.
Ann, I do not know about you, but just hanging around my horses and the “barn things” I do, I bang up all my watches and bend my rings not to mention some of the bruises that I pick up bumping into things in the barn. So, don’t feel bad.
I am not sure it’s just banging into things. My watches work if they are sitting on the dresser but stop after I start wearing them again. There has to be more to it.
Can you get an analog app on your iphone? Although, if you stopped that, you would be taking that issue to a whole nother level. lol
Ann, LL Bean has watches that attach to your belt loop, worth a try.
Wow.. what would happen if you wore an energy/armor bracelet- maybe one wouldn’t be enough for you??
My sister has ADD and she could never tell her right from her left. My father started buying her watches when she was little so she could use it to tell her right hand from her left hand. The trouble is, her watches kept stopping for no apparent reason. Once when she had an exam in college and she needed to keep track of the time, she took her alarm clock in her purse. She also creates static when she walks by a radio.
She too will be glad to find out she is not the only one.
I short out toasters and have never had an ice-maker in a freezer that works. I really don’t get the freezer thing. Again, it could have to do with my clumsiness and the way I tend to “smash things with my hands.”
I have never heard of this phenonmenon. I was going to suggest buying an under water watch as it might be powerful enough to withstand your energy, but you already tried it. I am clueless about this. Maybe a small alarm clock carried with you on the job? You didn’t say anything about stopping clocks.
Gloria
I just need a second hand that works.
Ann, I was a watch stopper in my younger days. Gave up trying to wear one for many years. I tried again after I got “old” and now can wear one all the time. I know that doesn’t help now as you need one for your EMT,you can’t really wait til your an old lady.
Do you just carry a watch with you when you go on an emergency run?
Pocketwatch?
I’m in the tribe of watch-stoppers. My daddy always told me it was my “magnetic personality” and I believed him. Maybe was closer to the scientific truth than he guessed.
The only watches that last past the first few weeks on me are the kind designed specifically for athletes. For some reason the ones that also measure heartrate are extra-resistant to my “magnetism.” They’re an expensive breed, though, those multiple-function time pieces. I get mine at REI; if there’s not one near you, go to REI.com. Sometimes a good deal can be had in their clearance/outlet section.
Also, iPhones have an app for second hand type counting, I believe. Not too convenient to whip out your phone – I’d hate for someone to think you were checking your email at a time like that – but better than no way to check vitals at all!
I choose to believe this electric-energy extra-zippiness we posses is the indicator of superpowers surging just under the surface. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Amazing. My husband has had the same problem with watches for his entire life.
Didn’t matter whether the watches were mechanical, self-wind or battery powered. Dead. Every last one.
A sun dial does seem like a viable option, except in pulse taking situations and solar eclipses.
In my youth I had a mechanical Timex watch that lost the crystal. I bathed race horses daily without fogging the thing up, and the bigeloil/water solution kept the display very clean. The watch lasted for three years before corroding beyond help.
Good luck with your dilemma, and maybe consider that iphone app!
Ann,,
The key to this is to buy a really good, expensive watch.. Buy a Citizens Eco-Drive, it’s green, it’s fashionable and it should work…..
Bernie
A good friend of mine has a daughter that effects the electrical currents around her as well. She can turn lights on and off, as well as other things. She has been that way her entire life, and she is now 19. She is also VERY smart.No worries for you Ann
I remember reading Shirley MacLaine having the same problem due to her body having high energy level so she wore a watch ring.
Watches work fine on me, but lights, particularly streetlights, tend to go on and off when I am around. Also, I have a friend who insists her computer doesn’t work when I am near. Princeton has done some research into this phenomenon.
http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/. There are more things in heaven and earth….