As I browse around the internet looking for interesting articles, I occasionally come across a lead paragraph or two that absolutely sucks me in. Here’s a perfect example, from a Scientific American piece by Katie Weeman…
In October 2019 the icebreaker RV Polarstern sat trapped in thick sea ice atop the central Arctic Ocean — the only landmark in a vast expanse of nothingness. Another icebreaker, the Akademik Fedorov, approached it slowly, hauling a load of supplies and personnel. Scientists and crew lined the balconies of each ship, gripping the ice-crusted banisters as they peered across the void. They could see the smiling faces of their colleagues just feet away — but they were two time zones apart.
At the North Pole, 24 time zones collide at a single point, rendering them meaningless. It’s simultaneously all of Earth’s time zones and none of them. There are no boundaries of any kind in this abyss, in part because there is no land and no people. The sun rises and sets just once per year, so “time of day” is irrelevant as well.
If that hooked you, too, read Weeman’s full piece here.