Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-06-23
THREE DAYS IN ONE
This Queer Condition Lasts Hall
an Hour Every Day.
A FREAK OF CHANGING TIME.
When u 10 Noon on Monday IN Lon
don, Tuesday Has just Begun At
Cape Dsshnsf, Siberia, but Sunday
Has Not Yet Ended at Attn Island.

oon, tuesday Has just Begun a
Cape osshnsf, Siberia, but Sunday
Has Not Yet Ended at Attn Island.
Three days can exist at the same
time. II sounds impossible, but 1t Il
nevertheless fact that when 1t Is very
late Sunday night st Attu island 1t is
Monday noon at London and Tuesday
morning at Cape Deshnef, Siberia.
IL one travels westward one loses a
day in going round the world II one
travels eastward one gains a day.
Could one travel at the rate of Is de-
grees day one would lose exactly ope
hour each day. In twenty-four days
the circuit would be complete.
lnasmuch as sun and earth are con-
stantly revolving and day merging into
night, Sunday passing into Monday,
etc. 1t Is obvious that at one point on
the worlds surface an arbitrary line
must be set. to the east of which Is one
day. TO the west Of which IL the next
day. This immediate Jump" Of day
regulates the calendar for one circum-
navigating the globe
This international date line" as 1t IL
called, passing north and south and d.
viding our world into two equal parts.
Is the one hundred and eightieth merid-
ian and crosses the Pacific ocean
where. fortunately. there Is very little
land--taking a slight bulge outward to
Include Siberia. and one the other way
to include Attu island. which belongs
to Alaska geographically. The map
will show this. West OF this line IL
Monday and east OF II Is Sunday.
When II IL noon on Monday In Lon.
don Tuesday has already begun nj
Cape Deshnef. Siberia. but Monday
morning has not yet dawncd at Attn
island. Nearly half an hour Of Sunday
still remains there. We are thus con-
fronted with the paradox OF three days
consisting ut the same time.
We must remember that every day
begins at midnight IL we could travel
round the world at the same rate that
IL travels. beginning our flight at noon.
II would be perpetnally noon all the
way round. Yet we should lose day.
While at any particular point on the
surface OF the earth a day IL twenty.
four hours long. every day, as a mat
ter Of fact. lasts forty-eight hours
sometimes even longer This seems
another contradiction. Yet Ii can be
explained.
Any given day. say Christmas. be
gins tas that day. Immediately west OF
the isnth parallel One hour later
Christmas day begins Is degrees west
Of the date line. two hours later 80 de-
grees west of the line and so on round
the globe.
Those living just west of the date
line would have enjoyed twelve hours
of Christmas when itreachcd England.
eighteen hours when IL began In the
United STATES and twenty-four hours
"a whole day. when 1t began in Alas
ka. Already Christmas had existed
twenty four hours ON this globe, hut
having just begun In western Alaska
II win last there twenty-four hours
longer.
We have just seen that each day
lasts for forty eight hours. AS mat
ter of fact. day lasts In some places
more than forty nine hours, This is
because OF the irregularity OF the date
line previously mentioned.
Let us begin an imaginary journey
from Cape Deshnef. Siberia, at mid
night. As midnight sweeps westward
successive places see the beginning or
the day When the day begins In Lon
don 1t has been that same day at Cape
Deshnef twelve hours and forty-five
minutes.
When this same day arrives at Attn
island IT has been twenty-five hours
and twelve minutes since II began Of
ficiaIly ut Cape Deshnef. Since the day
will then last twenty-four hours at At
tn island. before It is spent forty-nine
hours and twelve minutes will have
elapsed from the beginning OF thst day
until the time II closes.
Thus three days can exist at one
time. as before explained. -Hereward
C,arrinCfon I'm New York World