#1061: EST

XKCD Presents

EARTH STANDARD TIME

(EST)

A Universal Calendar for a Universal Planet

EST is…

Simple * Clearly Defined * Unambiguous

Free of Historical Baggage * Compatible with Old Units

Precisely Synced with the Solar Cycle * Free of Leap Years

Intermittently Amenable to Date Math

UNITS

Second: 1 S.I. Second

Minute: 60 seconds

Hour: 60 minutes

Day: 1444 minutes (24 hours 4 minutes)

Month: 30 Days

Year: 12 months

RULES

For 4 hours after every full moon, run clocks backward.

The non-prime-numbered minutes of the first full non-reversed hour after a solstice or equinox happen twice.

[Epoch]

00:00:00 EST, January 1, 1970 = 00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970 (Julian calendar)

[Tim Zones]

The two EST time zones are

EST

and

EST (United Kingdom)

. These are the same except that the UK second is 0.944 standard seconds.

Daylight saving: Countries may enter DST, but no time may pass there.

Narnian Time: Synchronizedâ

Year Zero: EST

does

have a year 0. (However, there is no 1958.)