> After the snooze button is hit, how long does it typically take for an alarm tosound again?And the answer: nine minutes.The standard setting for snooze buttons is nine minutes. Why? When firstdeveloped, the snooze function had to be incorporated into the existing gears ofa small alarm clock, and keeping the time period in single digits was easier forthe engineers.Photo credit: public domain.While alarm clocks are some of the most universallydespised inventions of the modern day, their necessity in everyday life can betraced back centuries. Clocks that drip water, mechanisms which drop pebbles,and alarms triggered to strike gongs are just some of the many creative wake-upcalls that have been used for millennia. However, it wasn't until 1787 thatalarm clocks took on the form we know them today. Levi Hutchins, an Americanfarmer, created a device to wake him up every day at 4 AM. Primarily intendedfor farmers, the alarm clock didn't receive a patent (or any other timedoptions) for another hundred years. By the time World War II rolled around, American factories had to turn away fromthe production of consumer items like alarms clocks and instead focus on the wareffort. Yet, in November 1944, the clocks were one of the first productsmanufacturers resumed creating for civilian use. By that time, a criticalshortage of alarm clocks had developed due to older clocks wearing out orbreaking down. Workers were late for, or missed completely, their scheduledshifts in jobs critical to the war effort, so returning to their production wasconsidered paramount. Learn more about the history of alarm clocks below, or check out this[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-2000year-history-of-alarm-clocks] article.