Today's wonder
Why do we have time zones?
a real page from the book
We have time zones because different parts of Earth face the sun at different times. Time zones let noon stay roughly connected to daytime where people live, instead of forcing one clock time to mean morning, night, or lunch everywhere.
Before fast travel, towns often used their own local sun clocks. Railways made that messy, so countries agreed on shared bands of time around the globe, starting from Greenwich, England, with each nearby zone usually one hour apart.
Wonder words
- longitude
- meridian
- railway
- rotation
Try it out
Spin a ball beside a lamp and mark when different sticker towns move into daylight, noon, and night.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover. Free today, no account needed.
Read the book — free todayAlso free today
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- What are plastics and polymers made of?
Keep wondering
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
Ask your own question