[csmkersh]

This is a very interesting story. A very short read.



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

the master, Captain John Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LON 179 30' W.

The date was 31 December 1899.



"Know what this means?" First Mate Payton broke in, "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 & double check the ships position.

He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed.

The calm weather & clear night worked in his favor.




At mid-night 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 bow of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.

The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.

The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.

In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900.

This ship was therefore not only in two different days,

two different months, two different years, and

two different seasons,

But it was also in two different centuries !


- all at the same time.

Note: snopes says nothing one way or the other when queried, but there are a number of posts on the net so it must be true. :lol:

 

[TommyGunn]

Oooopsie. The twentieth century began January 1st, 1901, not 1900.oke:

Sorry.....

 

[SpecialEd]

Oooopsie. The twentieth century began January 1st, 1901, not 1900.oke:

Sorry.....

Exactly.

 

[WaltGraham]

Still, a way cool story.

Sailors...

 

[CaptainGyro]

Oooopsie. The twentieth century began January 1st, 1901, not 1900.oke:

Sorry.....

Thank you Tommy. I get so tired of being a lone voice crying in the wilderness over this simple concept.

The calendar is not an odometer.

 

[csmkersh]

Oooopsie. The twentieth century began January 1st, 1901, not 1900.oke:

Sorry.....

I've been a little slow in getting back to this but decided to jerk TommyGunn's chain today. The piece said nothing about the twentieth century, it said

The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.

In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900.

This ship was therefore not only in two different days,

two different months, two different years, and

two different seasons,

But it was also in two different centuries !

- all at the same time.

Slow down on the digs next time.

 

[SpecialEd]

But it was also in two different centuries !

Same thing.

 

[csmkersh]

Not really, Ed. TG specified 20th century, the article didn't.

 

[CaptainGyro]

The dates at both ends of the ship were in the same century. Any year ending in "00" is in the same century as the preceding year ending in "99".

The first year of EVERY century ends in "01", not "00". All of those people who blindly jumped on the social media bandwagon and celebrated the dawn of the new Millennium on January 1st, 2000 were a year early.

 

[SpecialEd]

The dates at both ends of the ship were in the same century. Any year ending in "00" is in the same century as the preceding year ending in "99".

The first year of EVERY century ends in "01", not "00". All of those people who blindly jumped on the social media bandwagon and celebrated the dawn of the new Millennium on January 1st, 2000 were a year early.

They had to Cap'n, Y2K was going to wipe out civilization as we know it!

 

[CaptainGyro]

Roger that, Ed!

Interestingly, at the turn of the 20th century (when people were arguably better-educated because government had not yet begun to meddle with education) almost everyone recognized that the new century began on January 1st, 1901.

 

[CaptainGyro]

For anyone who may be puzzling over this, the confusion lies in the difference between cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc) and ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) To illustrate, imagine you are participating in a hot dog eating contest, and there are ten hot dogs sitting in front of you on the table. The contest begins, and you begin eating your first hot dog. When you finish it, the judge counts "ONE!", and you start eating the second. Again, after you finish that one, the judge calls "TWO". And so it continues, and the judge doesn't call "TEN!" until you've finished (not started) the tenth hot dog. You then begin on the second ten, which starts with...you guessed it...the eleventh dog.

A little mental exercise: you have an appointment on the eleventh floor of an office building, but when you get there the elevator is broken so you have to take the stairs. How many flights of stairs do you have to climb?

 

[SpecialEd]

For anyone who may be puzzling over this, the confusion lies in the difference between cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc) and ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) To illustrate, imagine you are participating in a hot dog eating contest, and there are ten hot dogs sitting in front of you on the table. The contest begins, and you begin eating your first hot dog. When you finish it, the judge counts "ONE!", and you start eating the second. Again, after you finish that one, the judge calls "TWO". And so it continues, and the judge doesn't call "TEN!" until you've finished (not started) the tenth hot dog. You then begin on the second ten, which starts with...you guessed it...the eleventh dog.

A little mental exercise: you have an appointment on the eleventh floor of an office building, but when you get there the elevator is broken so you have to take the stairs. How many flights of stairs do you have to climb?

Blame it on the guys who determined the early calendar. There is a 1BC and a 1AD, no year 0.

 

[csmkersh]

The dates at both ends of the ship were in the same century. Any year ending in "00" is in the same century as the preceding year ending in "99".

I'm well aware of that, but you and Ed are being anal over a cut and paste of a story that's floating on the internet with the same error.

 

[dfariswheel]

Another sea story...........

There was a freighter sailing the seas for many years.
The captain was an older man.
Every morning he'd come on the bridge and look around, checking the state of the sea.
Then he'd go to the captain's safe on the bulkhead, open it and take out a small piece of paper.
He'd look at it, nod his head, and lock it back in the safe, then go about his duties.

One morning the captain failed to show, so the mate went down to his cabin and found the old gentleman had quietly passed away in his sleep.

He went back to the bridge and informed the crew of this.
There was a moment of silence.

Then there was a mad rush to the safe.
The mate opened the safe and took out the paper.
It said.......

"Port is left, starboard is right".

 

[SpecialEd]

Another sea story...........
...................................

"Port is left, starboard is right".

A different take on the old Accountant joke. "Left = Debit, Right = Credit."