World News Moment is approaching 'A Chronological Oddity' Updated: 10:05, Wednesday May 03, 2006
For one second only in the small hours of Thursday morning, clocks and calendars will combine to form a perfect sequence of numbers.
At three seconds past 1.02am precisely, the digital time and date will spell 01.02.03 04/05/06.
Besides being pleasing to the eye, the coincidence is not widely thought to have any special significance.
But unless you are blessed with a particularly long life, you will never see it happen again.
The next time it occurs will be May 4, 2106.
In America, because the date and day are written the other way around, the moment has already taken place - on April 5.
Geoff Chester, an official atomic clock timekeeper at the US Naval Observatory, pointed out the alignment required a slight sleight of hand because the real date is not 06, but 2006.
"It just happens to be a chronological oddity," he said. "If you were to use the full year, that would screw things up completely.
"You do have to bend it a little if you want to make it work."
Hmmm, one is still generaly pottering about at that hour so shall observe and report,personelly one thinks this is one of they urban myth darwin award thingies.
Actually, if you allow "bending the rules", and skip the seconds, it happens all of.... 20 minutes later at 1.23AM, 04/05/06. So, not so unique after all....
sequence will re-occur starting on a different number every 13 months or so till 2013: 02.03.04.05/06/07, 03.04.0506/07/08 and so on. Not as perfect as starting on 1, but cool sequence anyway! nice find!
Actually, if you allow "bending the rules", and skip the seconds, it happens all of.... 20 minutes later at 1.23AM, 04/05/06. So, not so unique after all....
Location: If it moves, watch it like a hawk: If it doesn't, hit it with a hammer until it does...
Age: 49
Posts: 139
Instruments* are setup in the mocoman household to observe any unusual occurances during the expected event....; waiting and watching, expecting a Y2K-bug-like letdown...
Slightly off topic here,used to instal some stuff that involved a Time lapse VCR,a Multiplexer,and Cameras,all of these bits of kit had their own built in Digital clocks, the digital timer on the VCR was used to switch the tape off and on, the digital time display on the multiplexer was used to time and date stamp the tape itself,and each camera had a camars ID number date and time display,can you imagine the fun we had trying to get all these digital time readouts in sync so they agreed on what time it actually was.
