5 Interesting Facts About Time Zones That Every Traveler Should Know About

5 interesting facts about time zones that every traveler should know. (Image: Canva)
Putin abolished multiple time zones in Russia
On the map, Russia spans 11 time zones. However, it only follows nine of the 11. At 2 a.m. on March 28, 2010, when most of Russia turned their clocks forward, Russians in the country’s Udmurt Republic, Samara Oblast, Kamchatka and Chukotka regions ignored government daylight savings. Order. To streamline trade relations with Moscow and unify with the rest of the country, Putin swiftly abolished time zones overnight.
UK and Europe should have the same time
World War II caused many things to go haywire, one of them being the time zones between Britain and the rest of Europe. France, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium were all originally in the same time zone as the UK. However, Germany changed its timing to equalize German territory. Meanwhile, Spanish dictator Franco changed the time in Spain by one hour. This also explains why Portugal has the same time zone as the UK, despite being in the same physical location as Spain.
meaninglessly small time zones
Market Island, which lies between Sweden and Finland, is co-owned by both countries. Hence there is division in between according to time. For this reason there is a gap of one hour between the two sides.
Hawaii and Arizona burn in broad daylight
Hawaii does not observe DST, meaning it maintains an easily memorable time zone of GMT-10:00 year-round. Strangely, Alaska’s time in winter is the same as Hawaii’s time. Although their climates are vastly different, both states follow HAST (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) for half the year.
Iran and Afghanistan don’t really care
Many nations and territories recognize a partial offset from GMT rather than the usual full hour. Iran (GMT +03:30, and GMT +04:30 during the summer), Afghanistan (GMT +04:30), Sri Lanka (+05:30), and Newfoundland, Canada (GMT -03:30 during the summer, and GMT -04:30) all are half an hour away from the neighbours.