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Photo: Big Ben gets a tuneup

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – AUGUST 11: Technicians abseil down the clock face of Big Ben as they begin maintenance and cleaning work to the Westminster clock on August 11, 2007 in London, England. The maintenance, which is carried out every five years, includes the replacement of the bearings that sound the chimes on the hour ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
599998_070813_bigben_05.jpg
599998_070813_bigben_05.jpg

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 11: Technicians abseil down the clock face of Big Ben as they begin maintenance and cleaning work to the Westminster clock on August 11, 2007 in London, England. The maintenance, which is carried out every five years, includes the replacement of the bearings that sound the chimes on the hour and every quarter of an hour. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – AUGUST 11: Technicians abseil down the clock face of Big Ben as they begin maintenance and cleaning work to the Westminster clock on August 11, 2007 in London, England. The maintenance, which is carried out every five years, includes the replacement of the bearings that sound the chimes on the hour and every quarter of an hour. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

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