This podium clock was used in the 1976 debates between President Gerald Ford, the Republican nominee, and Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia. It was mounted on one of the podiums to help enforce the rules: three-minute answers, followed by two-minute rebuttals. But the first debate of the three held that year was also memorable for words that weren’t said. The sound went out and, for 27 minutes, Ford and Carter stood silently—and awkwardly—in place while the country watched and waited. Although they both later said they wished had been less ill at ease, Ford and Carter each acknowledged the respect they had for their opponent, a respect that grew into friendship later in their lives.