This Friday, December 30, will not exist on the tiny nation of Samoa. That’s because the country will skip the day and go from 11:59:59PM Thursday to 12:00:00AM Saturday. But why?
People in Samoa (population 193,000) want to be closer time-wise to Australia, New Zealand, China and Tonga because they do so much more day-to-day business with those relatively nearby nations than with the rest of the world. And the problem until now, for example, has been that when it’s 8 a.m. Monday in Samoa it’s 8 a.m. Tuesday in Tonga. Business people in Samoa have kind of been losing a working day when it comes to dealing with their nearest neighbors.
Below is a brief video compiled by the Associated Press:
###
(via NPR)