Monday, January 1, 2024

Well, with everything going on I knew I was going to forget something. I meant to post this yesterday ... Oh well, I claim onset of dementia. That's what my wife says anyway.

The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain, John DS. Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo’s position was LAT 0° 31’ N and LONG 179 30° W. The date was 31 December 1899.
First Mate Payton noted that the Warrimoo, “We’re only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line.” Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime.
He called his navigators to the bridge to check (and double check) the ship’s position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. He then adjusted the engine speed.
The calm weather and clear night worked in his favor. At midnight, the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line. The consequences of this bizarre position were many:
The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere and in the middle of Summer
The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere and in the middle of Winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.
In the bow, it was 1 January 1900.
The ship was therefore not ONLY in:
Two different days, two different months, two different years, two different seasons but in two different centuries, all at the same time.

 

 




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