WEBVTT - Do the North and South Poles Have Time Zones?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren vog obamb here. The time zones

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<v Speaker 1>are headache fuel, even if you're not moving rapidly through

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<v Speaker 1>them yourself, which is a great way to screw up

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<v Speaker 1>your sleep schedule. Just trying to schedule phone calls between

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<v Speaker 1>them can cause all sorts of trouble. Time zones also

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<v Speaker 1>have political quirks here and there. The continental United States

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<v Speaker 1>is split into four recognized time zones, yet China, which

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<v Speaker 1>is around the same size, just has one. Still, that's

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<v Speaker 1>not to say that the layout of Earth's time zones

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<v Speaker 1>is totally random. By international custom, our planet is divided

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<v Speaker 1>into a series of longitudinal lines that run from the

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<v Speaker 1>north pole all the way down to the South pole.

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<v Speaker 1>These form convenient boundaries for the twenty four widely used

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<v Speaker 1>time zones. Since those lines converge in to a single

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<v Speaker 1>point at each of the two poles, what does that

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<v Speaker 1>mean for the poles? If you're physically standing at the

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<v Speaker 1>South pole or chillan at the North pole, then what's

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<v Speaker 1>the local time? First, let's clarify what we mean by

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<v Speaker 1>the poles. Earth has a magnetic north and South pole.

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<v Speaker 1>They drift based on what's going on with their planet's

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<v Speaker 1>magnetic field. But they're generally situated somewhere in the Arctic

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<v Speaker 1>and somewhere in the Antarctic. Compasses point toward the magnetic

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<v Speaker 1>north Pole, but these spots have nothing to do with

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<v Speaker 1>longitude lines. The geographic north Pole, on the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>is a singular place, the counterpart to the geographic South Pole.

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<v Speaker 1>These two spots are where Earth's outer surface intersects with

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<v Speaker 1>its axis of rotation. Due to the tilt of the

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<v Speaker 1>Earth's axis, each only has one sunrise and one sunset

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<v Speaker 1>per year. It's six months of light followed by six

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<v Speaker 1>months of darkness, so time is a little meaningless there anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's also where the world's longitudinal lines overlap, which

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<v Speaker 1>brings us back to the time zone issue. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>generally matter what time it is at the geographic North

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<v Speaker 1>Pole because nobody lives there. There are no permanent structures

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<v Speaker 1>at the geographic north Pole because it's located in the

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<v Speaker 1>Arctic Ocean. Ships passing through these waters can pick their

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<v Speaker 1>own time zone. Sometimes vessels sink themselves up with the

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<v Speaker 1>time zone observed in a given country or city farther south.

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<v Speaker 1>Often the one nearest to them at that moment, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's up to them. In twenty a North Pole expedition

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<v Speaker 1>crew aboard a ship named the Polar Stern lodged themselves

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<v Speaker 1>in an ice flow to conduct research and changed their

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<v Speaker 1>time zone once a week. Things are a little different

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<v Speaker 1>in Antarctica. The South Pole lies above solid ground, and

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<v Speaker 1>so do the continent's many research stations. Each one usually

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<v Speaker 1>sticks to a predesignated time zone from some other spot

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<v Speaker 1>on the globe, maybe from the country that has territorial

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<v Speaker 1>claim to that part of the continent, or the country

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<v Speaker 1>that owns the station, or the country that houses their

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<v Speaker 1>supply base. However, researchers from a particular country may choose

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<v Speaker 1>to operate on their hometime, just to make scheduling those

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<v Speaker 1>calls a little easier. Today's episode is based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article why don't the North and South Poles have time zones?

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<v Speaker 1>On how stuff Works dot Com, written by Mark Mancini.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the

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