1 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren vog obamb here. The time zones 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: are headache fuel, even if you're not moving rapidly through 4 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,799 Speaker 1: them yourself, which is a great way to screw up 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: your sleep schedule. Just trying to schedule phone calls between 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: them can cause all sorts of trouble. Time zones also 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: have political quirks here and there. The continental United States 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: is split into four recognized time zones, yet China, which 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: is around the same size, just has one. Still, that's 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: not to say that the layout of Earth's time zones 11 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: is totally random. By international custom, our planet is divided 12 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: into a series of longitudinal lines that run from the 13 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: north pole all the way down to the South pole. 14 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: These form convenient boundaries for the twenty four widely used 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: time zones. Since those lines converge in to a single 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: point at each of the two poles, what does that 17 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: mean for the poles? If you're physically standing at the 18 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,199 Speaker 1: South pole or chillan at the North pole, then what's 19 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: the local time? First, let's clarify what we mean by 20 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,839 Speaker 1: the poles. Earth has a magnetic north and South pole. 21 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: They drift based on what's going on with their planet's 22 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: magnetic field. But they're generally situated somewhere in the Arctic 23 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: and somewhere in the Antarctic. Compasses point toward the magnetic 24 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: north Pole, but these spots have nothing to do with 25 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,839 Speaker 1: longitude lines. The geographic north Pole, on the other hand, 26 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: is a singular place, the counterpart to the geographic South Pole. 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: These two spots are where Earth's outer surface intersects with 28 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: its axis of rotation. Due to the tilt of the 29 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: Earth's axis, each only has one sunrise and one sunset 30 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: per year. It's six months of light followed by six 31 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: months of darkness, so time is a little meaningless there anyway. 32 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: But it's also where the world's longitudinal lines overlap, which 33 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: brings us back to the time zone issue. It doesn't 34 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,239 Speaker 1: generally matter what time it is at the geographic North 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: Pole because nobody lives there. There are no permanent structures 36 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: at the geographic north Pole because it's located in the 37 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: Arctic Ocean. Ships passing through these waters can pick their 38 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: own time zone. Sometimes vessels sink themselves up with the 39 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: time zone observed in a given country or city farther south. 40 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: Often the one nearest to them at that moment, but 41 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: it's up to them. In twenty a North Pole expedition 42 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: crew aboard a ship named the Polar Stern lodged themselves 43 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: in an ice flow to conduct research and changed their 44 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: time zone once a week. Things are a little different 45 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: in Antarctica. The South Pole lies above solid ground, and 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: so do the continent's many research stations. Each one usually 47 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: sticks to a predesignated time zone from some other spot 48 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 1: on the globe, maybe from the country that has territorial 49 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: claim to that part of the continent, or the country 50 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: that owns the station, or the country that houses their 51 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 1: supply base. However, researchers from a particular country may choose 52 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: to operate on their hometime, just to make scheduling those 53 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: calls a little easier. Today's episode is based on the 54 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,399 Speaker 1: article why don't the North and South Poles have time zones? 55 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: On how stuff Works dot Com, written by Mark Mancini. 56 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with 57 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced by 58 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the 59 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.