what if?

[Chiliagon]

ya it would take a few days for people to understand it

but then all the governments would do an investigation into why it all happened.

 

[karrie]

ya it would take a few days for people to understand it

but then all the governments would do an investigation into why it all happened.

if it actually happened, as numerous people pointed out, it would bring about a LOT more than merely a time change, but, I'm just playing in the imaginary parameters set out.

 

[Chiliagon]

well maybe they'd all globally agree to make that time the NEW 8AM.. just go to the hour that this would normally be!

 

[FiveParadox]

I think that we would, as a global community, agree to simply revert Greenwich Mean Time twelve hours back (or ahead, whatever) to make the position of the Sun match what it always had. It would be much easier to have the entire world lose twelve hours of time than to make massive adjustments in all aspects of life to handle the change.

 

[Machjo]

So, you walk down the street and all of a sudden like out of a science fiction Movie, the sun goes down in seconds, .. which usually takes all day!!

No the sun didn't suddenly burn out or any sort of disaster.. we just had a sudden shift in the planets axle.

So now the sun comes up at 8pm and goes down at 9am each day.. Things are totally backwards..

how do you think we as a society would adapt? how long would it take to change our daily lives to accomodate the totally opposite days.

Depending on various circumstances, anywhere from 1 to 12 days. Just like regular jet lag.

Forget about the time being backwards, we will have bigger things to worry about. By change in earth’s ‘axle’, I assume you mean change in the axis of rotation.

Such a change will be catastrophic change. Earth will suddenly have to stop moving in one direction and start moving in another direction about another axis, at an angle to the current axis.

If so, what do you think is going to happen to all the loose objects on the surface of the planet? People, cars, animals, etc.? What will happen to the water in the oceans (somebody mentioned tidal waves)? We are talking of a catastrophe of global proportions.

In this respect, you may wish to read a story by H.G.Wells, 'The Man Who Could Work Miracles’ (or similar name). In that, he has vividly described what would happen if the earth suddenly stopped rotating (the man who could work miracles say to the earth, "jes’ stop rotating, will you?” and earth does).

So very few of us will be alive to worry about whether it is 8 p.m. or 9 a.m.

Well, looking at it that way, assuming it's not just a time shift but the earth actually breaking and repositioning itself, I guess it would be like being in a a NASCAR race with the driver suddenly making a sharp turn, and then multiply that a few times to the Nth power. Everything would go flying.

 

[Cliffy]

According to many prophesies, this area will become semi-tropical, so, Ya! I'm looking forward to it.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

yea I heard the radio version of that Book/Movie. I am curious to see it.

Why not go to the original source and read the story for yourself? It is a typical H.G.Wells story (I have read most of his sci fi and fantasy material) told in a witty, absorbing, entertaining style, with wry humour.

Well, looking at it that way, assuming it's not just a time shift but the earth actually breaking and repositioning itself, I guess it would be like being in a a NASCAR race with the driver suddenly making a sharp turn, and then multiply that a few times to the Nth power. Everything would go flying.

Quite so, it will be catastrophic if it happens suddenly. If it happens slowly, say over thousands (or tens of thousands) of years, I don't see any ill effects; people, animals would probably adopt.