the world is a big scary place, and what the heck are they doing letting us run around in it?

[thanate]

But on the other hand, this is pretty cool:

"Londoners who live an appropriate distance from the Clock Tower and Big Ben can, by means of listening to the chimes both live and on the radio or television, hear the bell strike thirteen times on New Year's Eve. This is possible due to the one strike offset between live and electronically-transmitted chimes. Guests are invited to count the chimes aloud as the radio is gradually turned down."

(according to wikipedia)