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This clock was famous, but the internet ruined it.

60 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
1 HN user recommended this explainer1 month2022–2023 score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN cites it as a fascinating explanation of a real Dutch auction, in threads about auctions and ticket sales.

Tom Scott explains the famous Dutch flower auction clock at Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer, a literal Dutch auction, and how the internet changed it. It is a short look at how the system worked then and now.

“Fascinating to see how it worked then and how it works now.” (HN, 2022)

1 recommendations · 2 citations · Explainers

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@poopsmithe Nov 2022 Recommends
on HN thread How to sell tickets fairly
YES! I love this concept. The big clock featured in the post was described in a Tom Scott video[1] earlier this year. It's the Royal FloraHolland's flower auction in Aalsmeer. Fascinating to see how it worked then and how it works now. Same concept, just computerized and accessible remotely by bidders. [1] [this video]
How the Dutch flower auction clock worked

Citations, criticism and jokes

@somat Sep 2023 Cites it
on HN thread Why Scalpers Can Get Olivia Rodrigo Tickets and You Can't
Have you seen how the dutch flower auctions do it? Those guys have something like 30 seconds max to hit their mark. Now those are professional buyers. I think for your amateur crowd you would have to provide a bit more time. perhaps a week. just make it clear what is happening. And that big clock, have you seen the big clock? if I ever made a dutch auction ticket site A big clock would feature predominantly in the ui. Unfortunately I don't think the flower auctions use the big clock anymore. which is a shame. [this video] (tom scott)
Example of the big auction clock

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