The topic of how time zones are determined has always fascinated me.

The powers that 'be' in Las Vegas have talked about changing the time zone here from Pacific to Mountain time in an effort to increase business. I would welcome this change because it is hard to do business with the rest of the country when the east coast is 3 hours ahead of us; their day is half done when ours is just starting.

Sunrise in Las Vegas:



"The island nation of Samoa in the South Pacific had announced earlier this year that it would switch from being on one side of the International Dateline to the other, putting itself in the world’s earliest time zone instead of the latest.

To achieve this change, Samoa has to lose a day. So even though today is Thursday, tomorrow won’t be Friday. Sorry, Rebecca Black! Friday is canceled, as is the date of Dec. 30, 2011.

Samoans began celebrating under a rainbow of fireworks at the stroke of midnight on Thursday, Dec. 29 — when the country skipped over Friday and moved straight into 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 31.

According to the Guardian, being on the east side of the date line for over a century helped Samoa do business with the U.S. But it is now more convenient for the small country to be on the other side of the line for its trading with New Zealand and Australia.

American Samoa, a nearby U.S. territory, will not be part of the switch. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had told the Guardian that after this week, tourists will be able to experience a day two times if they spend one day in Samoa then the next in American Samoa. Not bad for a tropical vacation."



Read more: Skipping Friday