U.S. Debt is Too Big for the Debt Clock

Most digital clocks take an entire 60 seconds to make a change. But not the National Debt Clock displayed in Manhatten. The clock was put up in 1989 by real estate mogul Seymour Durst. It constantly updates, showing the country's amount of debt.

Recently, the clock ran out of digits to display the full amount of debt. When the clock was first put up, the country was $2.7 trillion in debt. There was enough space to display 13 digits and a dollar sign. When the deficit reached $10 trillion, the leading 1 had to share the space with the dollar sign.

The Durst Organization, who currently owns the clock says it will be replaced in 2009 and will be able to display up to a quadrillion dollars. Hopefully, the nation's debt never reaches that number. Maybe, leaving the current clock would give the government and incentive to decrease the debt.