The True Story of The SS Warrimoo

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chilerelleno

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GREAT SEA STORY (Trivia)
The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia.
The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result.
The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LONG 179 30' W.
The date was 31 December 1899.
"Know what this means?" First Mate Payton broke in, "We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line".
Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime.
He called his navigators to the bridge to check & double check the ship's position.
He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark.
Then he adjusted the engine speed.
The calm weather & clear night worked in his favor.
At mid-night the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line!

The consequences of this bizarre position were many:

The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.
The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.
In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900.
This ship was therefore not only in:
Two different days,
Two different months,
Two different years,
Two different seasons
But in two different centuries - all at the same time!
Also read,
https://hotflav.com/30-images-of-the-oceans-dark-and-dangerous-sides/


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Gotta give the captn credit for thinking all that through. And that is a cool piece of trivia.

And yes.....I also have enjoyed the second part of your post at times.

Jim
 
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Had a deposit in 2015 to make on PI day, March 14. My Treasurer was in the bank that morning and had to explain the significance of the date but then the teller was fully on board this ship, down to the very second. So somewhere i have a deposit slip reading
3/14/15 9:26:54
I find this so totally cool...but I may be irrational
 
Irrational? No.
A major geek? Yes.

Why was Pi Day 2015 so special?

In the year 2015, March 14 was celebrated as "Super Pi Day". It had special significance, as the date is written as 3/14/15 in month/day/year format. At 9:26:53, the date and time together represented the first ten digits of π, and later that second Pi Instant represented all of π's digits.
 
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