I remember when I was in the Navy, our ship crossed the international date line, and at least one crewmember lost his birthday. Now I have read a shocking article that says an entire country is doing the same! There are probably at least dozens who will suffer the same fate with this sweeping battleaxe move!
Article from HERE
APIA, Samoa — Sirens wailed and fireworks exploded in the skies over Samoa as the tiny South Pacific nation jumped forward in time, crossing westward over the international date line and effectively erasing Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, from the country’s calendar.The time jump means that
Samoans who had gathered around the main clock tower in the capital Apia cheered and clapped as the clock struck midnight on Thursday, Dec. 29, instantly transporting the country 24 hours ahead to Saturday, Dec. 31. The switch, also being observed by neighboring Tokelau, is meant to align the islands’ time with key trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
I, personally, doubt the Samoans were “cheering and clapping”, They were probably rioting like I imagine all the Plutonians did when their world, Pluto, was flippantly voted no longer a planet in 2006!
I am sure the Plutonians on Pluto rioted when their world was voted no longer a planet.
MY Navy buddy will never get that birthday back. He is probably ridiculed because suddenly, he is one year younger than all his friends now, probably still suffers the emotional anguish of actually having his birthday taken away by the US Navy. I think we need to get on boats, and go down there an help the people of Samoa recover from this disaster. No one will be born in Samoa on Dec 30, 2011, not one single soul.
Or look at the bright side, no one will die in Samoa on Dec 30, 2011 either. AND Samoa’s 186,000 citizens, and the 1,500 in the three-atoll United Nations dependency of Tokelau, will now be the first in the world to ring in the new year, rather than the last..
but at least they could have erased a Monday, not a Friday!
