Have you ever seen an elephant tell time?

This is a picture of a reproduction of the Elephant Water Clock, an invention of Al-Jazari (1136–1206 CE) who is considered by many to be the father of modern mechanical engineering. The original device once stood over 20 feet tall and was an amazingly accurate and creative invention. Within the elephant is a water reservoir and a bowl with a hole in it. The bowl slowly fills with water, and after 30 minutes sinks and pulls a string attached to a mechanism which releases a ball into the serpent’s mouth. The serpent tips over, pulling the bowl out of the water and causing the elephant driver to beat a drum. The clock is sophisticated enough to show the time of day and can be adjusted with a flow regulator to compensate for the uneven length of days throughout the year.