Jori would be happy to tell you that I am a very heavy sleeper. When I hear my alarm, if I hear my alarn, I typically hit snooze or turn it off in various states of semi-consciousness. The only way to make sure I am truly awake is to engage me in some way. In other words, my mind tunes out an alarm but if the cable guy knocks on my door at 8am I won't have any problem getting out of bed.
These four clocks force you to put your mind to work.
Clocky
Clocky is kind. He gives you one snooze to wake up before he rolls off your nightstand. Then you'll be forced to crawl under your bed to turn him off. Thankfully, he's fairly rugged and can withstand drops of up to two feet. While by far the cutest, Clocky doesn't require much mental exertion, just nimble feet. Buy Clocky for $50.
Danger Bomb Clock
Finally, I can realize my dream of being Jack Bauer. Each morning, you will hear a loud explosion and must choose the correct, randomly-selected wire to make the noise go away. Good idea kids, but only picking one wire is a little too easy. Though resetting it might be a pain, which means it might just work for me. You can buy Danger Bomb Clock on March 17th. (via Product Dose
Puzzle Alarm Clock
Finally, an alarm that gives you a challenge. Every morning, your alarm will begin to blare and four puzzle pieces will launch into the air. The alarm won't stop blaring until the pieces return to their original resting place. This one should wake me up, but I would have liked at least nine pieces. The Puzzle Alarm Clock is $59 at Bim Bam Banana, but out of stock until March.
Kuku Alarm Clock
Like the puzzle clock, but more fun! When the work day is nigh, the Kuku Alarm Clock will begin crowing and will lay its eggs. The clucking won't stop until those eggs make it home. While I don't think I'd enjoy the clucking, this would certainly wake me up. I guarantee these eggs would be impossible to find. You can get the Kuku Clock for about $40 US at Latest Buy.
Bonus Idea
My friend Tien posted a picture just after waking up a few weeks ago. Immediately, I decided there needs to be a clock that takes your photo every time you hit snooze or turn it off. No, this wouldn't help you wake up but it would still be awesome. And if you're a clock maker and reading this, just combine this with the puzzle alarm clock, give it the ability to email photos (flickr!) and I'll buy two.
02/15/07 9:13 AM
[this is good] ;)
02/15/07 2:56 PM
I leave my phone on vibrate, set the alarm on it. Place it on the corner of my mattress or under my pillow and that wakes me up every morning. I hate the sound of alarms.
02/16/07 11:17 AM
I'd happily buy one of these for you, but then i'd have to hear you struggle to figure it out every morning. Or more likely, you'd get used to the noise I'd be the one to put it together because you won't wake up. I say you try megan's (very quiet) phone vibrate idea!
02/20/07 2:28 PM
ChipChick has a review of an alarm clock with a webcam in it. Maybe that could work for you?
02/22/07 5:42 PM
i think all the ones with pieces you have to put back would be hard as you would have to find them in a groggy state.
what about that alarm clock that brightens the room with light?