[News of the weird item #2.]
Country to change time zone by 30 minutes
Reuters
Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:33 AM ET
http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2007-08-24T143352Z_01_N23289803_RTRUKOC_0_US-VENEZUELA-TIME.xml
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has changed his
country's name, redesigned its flag and rejigged its coat of arms in his
drive for a socialist state.
Now the leftist reformer, highly popular for redistributing oil income, is
seeking to move the country's time zone to offer a more equitable
distribution of sunlight.
Venezuela in September will turn clocks back by 30 minutes as it switches
time zones to boost the amount of natural light to residents, a government
official said on Thursday.
Next month Venezuelan clocks will be set at Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) minus
4-1/2 hours, compared to the previous GMT minus four hours, Science and
Technology Minister Hector Navarro told reporters at a news conference.
He said the measure sought "a more fair distribution of the sunrise," which
would particularly help poor children who wake up before dawn to go to school.
"Very rigorous scientific studies have determined that ... the metabolic
activity of living beings is synchronized with the sun's light," he said.
Navarro said the government is planning to announce additional measures to
"make more effective use of time."
Venezuela, which under Chavez was officially changed to the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, adopted its current time zone in the 1960s.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
