Fun Facts About Time
The Country with the Most Time Zones
It's France! Including its overseas territories like French Polynesia and Guadeloupe, France uses 12 different time zones, the most of any country in the world.
A Wobbly Date Line
In 1995, the island nation of Kiribati moved the International Date Line eastward to encompass all of its islands on the same day. This move effectively jumped its easternmost islands 24 hours into the future.
Time Moves Slower for Your Feet
According to Einstein's theory of relativity, gravity affects time. The stronger the gravitational pull, the slower time passes. This means your feet, being closer to the Earth's center of mass, are aging microscopically slower than your head.
The "Leap Second"
To keep our atomic clocks synchronized with the Earth's slowing rotation, a "leap second" is occasionally added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This has occurred 27 times since 1972.
A Giant on a Single Clock
Despite spanning five geographical time zones, all of China officially operates on a single time: Beijing Standard Time (UTC+8). This leads to some very late sunrises in the country's western regions.
Living in Two Different Days
The Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait are a perfect example of the Date Line's effect. Big Diomede (Russia) is 23 hours ahead of Little Diomede (USA), even though they are only 2.4 miles apart. You can literally see "tomorrow" across the water.