What happens around the world right now
At its peak, the British Empire spanned all 24 time zones. Today, France holds the record with 12 time zones thanks to overseas territories.
Geographically spanning 5 time zones, China uses only one: Beijing Time (UTC+8). In western Xinjiang, the sun doesn't rise until 10 AM in winter.
Nepal uses UTC+5:45 — the only country with a 45-minute offset. It was chosen to assert independence from India's UTC+5:30.
The International Date Line zigzags around Kiribati and Samoa. In 2011, Samoa skipped an entire day to move to the other side.
Spain should be in GMT (like Portugal), but Franco moved it to CET in 1940 to align with Germany. Spaniards eat dinner at 10 PM because of this.
English speakers wanted "CUT", French wanted "TUC". UTC satisfies neither — which is exactly why it was chosen.