Things that never crossed your mind (why is Spain not the same time as the UK)

[Bob The Badger]

I was talking with a client yesterday who lives in Spain.

It never crossed my mind before that Spain should be in the same time zone as the UK if you look at lines of latitude

It's not because Franco was pally with Hitler and wanted to align with Germany.

The EU was due to have a vote in 2021 with countries voting on whether to scrap summertime changes. Spain had planned to vote with whatever put them back on the correct time because it's better for the health/circadian rhythms of the population.

Then the pandemic hit and the vote got shelved.

 

[Ram-Alf]

If the Spanish were to align with the UK time zone it would completely phuck up their siesta, Instead of 2 till 5pm, It will be 1 till 4pm but knowing the Spanish they'll have it 1 till 5pm

[Comrade 86]

29 minutes ago, The Last Post said:

If the Spanish were to align with the UK time zone it would completely phuck up their siesta, Instead of 2 till 5pm, It will be 1 till 4pm but knowing the Spanish they'll have it 1 till 5pm

Almost 60% of Spaniards never have a siesta, while just 18% will sometimes have a midday nap, according to a recent survey. In fact, the Spanish spend far more time working than many of their counterparts in Europe. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Spaniards rack up 1,691 hours at work each year while British workers do 1,674 annually and the Germans work just 1,371 hours a year.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170609-its-time-to-put-the-tired-spanish-siesta-stereotype-to-bed#:~:text=Almost 60% of Spaniards never have a siesta%2C while just,of their counterparts in Europe.

[Stive Pesley]

it's longitude isn't it?

Edited June 28, 2023 by Stive Pesley

[Ram-Alf]

1 hour ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

Almost 60% of Spaniards never have a siesta, while just 18% will sometimes have a midday nap, according to a recent survey. In fact, the Spanish spend far more time working than many of their counterparts in Europe. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Spaniards rack up 1,691 hours at work each year while British workers do 1,674 annually and the Germans work just 1,371 hours a year.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170609-its-time-to-put-the-tired-spanish-siesta-stereotype-to-bed#:~:text=Almost 60% of Spaniards never have a siesta%2C while just,of their counterparts in Europe.

This is a picture from your link...I win 😁

[Bob The Badger]

1 hour ago, Stive Pesley said:

it's longitude isn't it?

Yes

[Tamworthram]

16 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

I was talking with a client yesterday who lives in Spain.

It never crossed my mind before that Spain should be in the same time zone as the UK if you look at lines of latitude

It's not because Franco was pally with Hitler and wanted to align with Germany.

The EU was due to have a vote in 2021 with countries voting on whether to scrap summertime changes. Spain had planned to vote with whatever put them back on the correct time because it's better for the health/circadian rhythms of the population.

Then the pandemic hit and the vote got shelved.

 

Presumably, the answer is as simple as it makes a lot of sense for them to be aligned with the rest of mainland Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium etc). 

[PistoldPete]

16 hours ago, Bob The Badger said:

I was talking with a client yesterday who lives in Spain.

It never crossed my mind before that Spain should be in the same time zone as the UK if you look at lines of latitude

It's not because Franco was pally with Hitler and wanted to align with Germany.

The EU was due to have a vote in 2021 with countries voting on whether to scrap summertime changes. Spain had planned to vote with whatever put them back on the correct time because it's better for the health/circadian rhythms of the population.

Then the pandemic hit and the vote got shelved.

 

Is there such a thing as Spanish Summer Time. Or is it summer all year round in Spain?

[Bris Vegas]

I was surprised at how far away some South American countries are from Mexico.

Flight time from Mexico City to Santiago is 8 hours.

In 8 hours from London you can get to North America, Africa and Asia.

London to New Dehli is closer than Mexico City to Buenos Aires.

[BaaLocks]

Edinburgh is west of Cardiff

[May Contain Nuts]

Just how flipping vast Russia really is (including Siberia and all that)

..and as such, I guess, just how much landmass on Earth is virtually uninhabited or uninhabitable.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Kokosnuss

[Bob The Badger]

11 hours ago, Tamworthram said:

Presumably, the answer is as simple as it makes a lot of sense for them to be aligned with the rest of mainland Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium etc). 

I know what the answer is/was. Franco changed it to appease Hitler.

A lot of Spaniards would like it to go back because time zones are set in alignment with the body's natural clock. My client says one of the main reasons they eat later than most of Europe is for this reason alone.

She's actually German and has lived all over Europe and says Spain is unique in this respect.
 

@PistoldPete - yes they change like we do.

[sage]

Most people who go to the UK seaside for a holiday never go in the sea. Many of them don't even go on the beach.  Why do we do it? 

[Wolfie]

16 hours ago, Kokosnuss said:

Just how flipping vast Russia really is (including Siberia and all that)

..and as such, I guess, just how much landmass on Earth is virtually uninhabited or uninhabitable.

Indeed. Canada is a vast country but 90% of its population lives within 150 miles of the USA border

[Ram-Alf]

19 hours ago, Kokosnuss said:

Just how flipping vast Russia really is (including Siberia and all that)

..and as such, I guess, just how much landmass on Earth is virtually uninhabited or uninhabitable.

Operation Barbarossa by the Germans invading Russia in June 1941, The German soldiers said "the land was never ending, No one, No one for mile after mile after mile"

And yet their population is only 144 million people in 2022

Edited June 30, 2023 by The Last Post

[Grumpy Git]

15 hours ago, sage said:

Most people who go to the UK seaside for a holiday never go in the sea. Many of them don't even go on the beach.  Why do we do it? 

Havn't you seen the news about sh*t on the shore at Blackpool?

[Malagaram]

On 29/06/2023 at 09:19, PistoldPete said:

Is there such a thing as Spanish Summer Time. Or is it summer all year round in Spain?

Nope,our clocks go back and forth just like yours

[uttoxram75]

7 hours ago, Grumpy Git said:

Havn't you seen the news about sh*t on the shore at Blackpool?

My son in law is on that job.

A huge pipe taking treated sewage out to sea has collapsed. Its 9 meters underground and big enough to drive a bus through. Without it, untreated sewage cannot be stored. 400 contractors from around the country are pumping stuff out of the water treatment plants and ferrying it to another site for treatment. Its farmers with muck spreading equipment who have been called up to help. Its a massive emergency job and if they have heavy rain in the area its game over. Untreated sewage will flood the rivers and coast from Lytham St Annes to Blackpool/Fleetwood.

Lads are working round the clock stopping in B&Bs in Blackpool. 

[Carl Sagan]

On 29/06/2023 at 14:59, BaaLocks said:

Edinburgh is west of Cardiff

I was going to say:

but when I look at their longitudes, Edinburgh is 3.1883 deg west and Cardiff only 3.1681 deg west, so Edinburgh is maybe 2km west of Cardiff.

Unbelievable, Jeff!

[Bris Vegas]

On 29/06/2023 at 08:10, Kokosnuss said:

Just how flipping vast Russia really is (including Siberia and all that)

..and as such, I guess, just how much landmass on Earth is virtually uninhabited or uninhabitable.

Knowing this it’s easy to understand how Mexican cartels have been able to traffic drugs and humans to the US. The border is so big it’s impossible to monitor. The man power simply doesn’t exist.

So many tunnels and routes through desert mountains and such.

But yeah, places like Australia is so big you could be hundreds of miles away from another human being.

And then you consider that 70% of the earth is ocean, and 90% of that is undiscovered.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Bris Vegas