Samoa's going to move itself forward in time by a whole day - switching timezones by leaping from one side of the International Date Line to the other.
Instead of being last to see the sunset each day, Samoa will become one of the first to see the sunrise. Samoans will go to bed on Dec.29th this year, and wake up on Dec.31st. Anyone with a birthday on Dec.30th will just miss out!
Samoa changed once before in 1892 (along with neighbouring American Samoa) after pressure from US business interests. But Samoa's most frequent trading partners now are NZ and Oz: in fact, more Samoans live here in Nu Zild than in Samoa itself. Until now, the two countries have been a day apart, making business more difficult, so this will be a good fix-it.
I guess the only remaining problem is for those flying to Samoa on Dec.30th. Relative to the direction you're coming from, you'll either lose a day, gain a day, repeat a day, or just vanish into the time vortex in a puff of smoke! So, depending on when you read this: you have been / may be / have not been warned!
Meantime, enjoy this Roxy Music classic: This Is Tomorrow Calling.
No comments:
Post a Comment