Samoa leaps over International Date Line, be careful when booking a flight

by Sean McLachlan on

The Pacific Island nation of Samoa has changed its time zone ahead one hour. This isn’t some sort of island paradise version of Daylight Savings Time, but rather a shrewd business move.

By doing this they’re actually hopping over the International Date Line. The Samoan government wants the country to be in the same day as more westerly Australia and New Zealand, their main trading partners. So instead of being 21 hours behind Sydney, they’ll be three hours ahead.

While it seems to only be quibbling, actually it makes a huge difference. In an interview with the BBC, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi pointed out that when it’s Friday in Samoa, their business partners in Australia and New Zealand are enjoying a lazy Saturday. Sundays in Samoa are the start of the business week in Australia and New Zealand.

The International Date Line already has several zigs and zags. Traveling from north to south, it takes a swerve to the east to keep Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula all in one time zone, then a sharp turn to the west to keep the Aleutian Islands in the same time zone as Alaska. Then it goes straight down all the way to the Equator, where it makes its biggest detour to the east to make sure Kiribati is to the west of it.

Another swerve puts Samoa to the east of the International Date Line. That bit is slated to change, so this is probably the last time you’ll see this particular map of the International Date Line. The Line doesn’t get back on its original course until it’s far to the south.

The move doesn’t happen until 29 December, so the Samoans, and airline companies, will have plenty of time to get adjusted. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one carrier screws up and sends their passengers to some sort of temporal limbo.

[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Zebra Map: A Map For Time Zones, Not For Zebras

by Willy Volk on

Got a travel blog and want to feature different time zones? The ZebraMap time zone map is a free, customizable map that you can use on its own or as part of a blog or web site. You can choose from twenty color schemes, add locations, and position the labels anywhere on the map. This map illustrates Bjork’s summer concert schedule.

You can also add hyperlinks to the labels, so people can click on the label “Roskilde, DK,” for example, and visit the concert’s site.

By the way, if you want to learn more about Roskilde — or any other summer concerts — be sure to check out Gadling’s Massively Huge 2007 Summer Music Festival Roundup. If you want to learn more about zebras, check out the African Wildlife Foundation.

Global Time Travel Clock

by Willy Volk on

Unless they can add and subtract, like, really well, globe-trekkers are frequently wondering what time it is. Why bother with annoying old math when you can simply rotate a bezel and get the right time?

Brookstone’s $30 Global Time Travel Clock is so smart, it knows the time anywhere on earth. Simply turn the dial to learn the precise time (and day of the week) in any of the planet’s 24 time zones. Don’t have nocturnal vision? Brookstone didn’t think so. That’s why they gave the clock a backlit screen. Just touch the clock face, and the screen lights up.

Also boasting a built-in super-bright LED flashlight, you can even use the clock to make sure that noise you hear isn’t the sound of your hotel’s doorknob slowly twisting…