Question: where do the international date line and equator cross

title: International Date Line
text: The concept behind the IDL ( though not the IDL itself , which did not yet exist ) appears as a plot device in Jules Verne 's book Around the World in Eighty Days ( 1873 ) . The main protagonist , Phileas Fogg , travels eastward around the world . He had bet with his friends that he could do it in 80 days . To win the wager , Fogg must return by 8 : 45 pm on Saturday , 21 December 1872 . However , the journey suffers a series of delays and when Fogg reaches London , it 's 8 : 50 pm on Friday , 20 December , although he believes it 's Saturday , 21 December and that he has lost the wager by a margin of only five minutes . The next day , however , it is revealed that the day is Saturday , not Sunday , and Fogg arrives at his club just in time to win the bet . Verne explains :