Current Events > The US always celebrates New Year's last, it's a shame. Here's how we can fix it

(+) Yeah! (+)

GMT-8 (Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas) is the last highly-populated time zone to celebrate New Years. And then theres GMT-9 (Alaska) & GMT-10 (Hawaii.)

The reason GMT-11 & GMT-12 are unused is many Pacific island nations (Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa, etc.) unilaterally changed their time zones to GMT+13 and GMT+14 to draw in tourists as the earliest in the world to celebrate 1999/2000 and every subsequent New Years.

Being among the earliest to celebrate NY is definitely an incentive for tourism. Sydney, Australia (GMT+11), the first highly-populated city, attracts millions of revelers every year for that reason alone.

Contrary to popular belief, the Date Line is not governed by international law. Its a relic of the British Empires colonial past when they declared themselves the center of the world (0 longitude) and whoever was unlucky enough to be on the opposite side of the world 180 longitude (Date Line.)

TL;DR SUMMARY:

The US can simply switch to GMT+15, +16, +17, +18 and make itself the tourist magnet for revelers around the world to celebrate New Years FIRST. It would effectively switch the Date Line from the Pacific where it currently divides many poor island countries, to the Atlantic which is far more sparsely populated. It would make Britain, with its brutal colonial past, the last in the world for NY. And itll cut down on the massive amounts of trolling on English message boards from Asians & Europeans saying HAR HAR AMERIKANS STILL STUCK IN 2024.

no

Too long didn't read.

this is dumb but it's a funny sort of dumb

kirbymuncher posted...

this is dumb but it's a funny sort of dumb

How so?

Tourism is important in Chicago but changing time zones like would disturb the convention tourists as well as the natives.

CobraGT posted...

Tourism is important in Chicago but changing time zones like would disturb the convention tourists as well as the natives.

Itd just move forward by a full day (24h) as a one-time change, while the hours would remain the same. Chicago would still be 3:38pm. President Trump can have it take effect on February 29, 2028 or something to minimize disruption - the calendar would just roll over from Feb 28 to Mar 1.

A good chunk of Asia only half-heartedly celebrate the new year at the end of December and beginning of January. Many people believe that Tet is the real new year.

This is really dumb.

iGenesis posted...

How so?

well first off because it makes it sound like your mental map of that part of the world looks something like thishttps://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/53922cee.jpg

Let's just keep timezones the way they are, shall we? It's healthy for Murricans to know they will always inevitably be LAST at something.

Once it reaches 2026 new years for a time zone, they should stop advancing their clocks. Then when everyone has reached midnight, we can all start time again in sync.

why don't we just take the continent

and push it somewhere else

Didn't read all that shit but no, I don't approve of your "idea".

You guys actually like being last in the world to celebrate New Years and every other holiday?

And for certain game releases that are done by time zone, Australia gets to start playing before the US. You guys like that??

iGenesis posted...

You guys actually like being last in the world to celebrate New Years and every other holiday?

And for certain game releases that are done by time zone, Australia gets to start playing before the US. You guys like that??

You overestimate the amount of f***s Americans give about what takes place in other countries.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/939c6459.jpg

I could not possibly care less

iGenesis posted...

You guys actually like being last in the world to celebrate New Years and every other holiday?

And for certain game releases that are done by time zone, Australia gets to start playing before the US. You guys like that??

I can understand the game thing (even if it doesn't personally matter to me), as some people don't want to be spoiled or whatever, but I don't see where it matters in the slightest for celebrating holidays.

The tldr was tldr

I struggle to think of anything that bothers me less than this. And I live on the west coast.

No, because it would require a vast amount of shit to change that wouldn't be worth it.

As long as it's part of a bill that gets rid of the time change we have to endure twice a year, I'm all for it. Otherwise, no, who gives a fuck.

Geiki_Ganger posted...

You overestimate the amount of f***s Americans give about what takes place in other countries.

yep when you're in the US new years starts when the ball goes down in NYC and nobody gives a shit about other places.