"Give people a chance to answer; let the phone ring ten times..."
"A long-distance call is the next best thing to being there..."
The samples were often read by Jane Barbe, John Doyle, Pat Fleet or Joanne Daniels.
Many shortwave radio time signal services provide speaking clock services, such as WWV (voiced by John Doyle) and WWVH (voiced by Jane Barbe), operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology from the United States of America
To avoid disruption with devices who rely on the accurate timings and placement of the service tones from the radio, the voice recording may be "notched" clear of some of the tones.
The time as provided by WWV is also available by telephone, by calling +1 303 499 7111
WWVH (an auxiliary location in Hawaii) is available at +1 808 335 4363.
In addition, the United States Naval Observatory operates two speaking clocks: in Washington, D.C
at +1 202 762 1401 or +1 202 762 1069, and in Colorado Springs, Colorado at +1 719 567 6742.
The time as provided by TellMe voice portal is available by dialing toll-free 1-800-555-TELL (1-800-555-8355, say time when prompted).
Electronic speaking clocks and wristwatches are available, many marketed to the visually impaired.
Many telephone answering machines and similar devices include a speaking clock capability so they can announce the time when a message was received.
The intro to the song "Blowin' Hot Air" by The Click features a sample taken from the speaking clock.
Midway through the song "Wild" by Meat Beat Manifesto there is an altered, inaccurate time sample taken from the speaking clock.
The intro to the song "4-2-0" by Kottonmouth Kings features a sample taken from the speaking clock, announcing that the time is 4:20.
The first song on the album Albedo 0.39 by Vangelis, Pulstar, ends with the voice of the speaking clock, announcing that the time is 10:03 and 40 seconds.
At the end of the song "Clock" by Coal Chamber, the clock is quoted for 2:37:00 PDT.
The industrial music band Battery 9 has featured the Afrikaans version of the speaking clock's Wanneer u die sein hoor..
("when you hear the signal...") in a song called Tempo Hewig.
The track "Time Zones" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark consists of speaking clocks in English, French, German and Japanese synchronised so that the number of announcements increases as the track progresses and the time signals coincide.