Book 2, Question 148
Why Do Clocks Disagree Around the World?
If it is noon where you are, it can be the middle of the night somewhere else! Earth is round and spinning. When it is noon on your side, it is night on the far side.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 2
More fun facts
- There are 24 main time zones, one for each hour of the day.
- Time zones are marked by imaginary lines called meridians.
- The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich in London.
- Countries east of the Prime Meridian are ahead of UK time, and countries west of it are behind.
- Time zone lines wiggle because they often curve around country borders.
- Around 70 countries change their clocks for summer. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not.
Questions kids ask
What happens when you cross the International Date Line?
Travelling west across it, you add a day. Travelling east, you go back a day.