Why do we have timezones?

Question

Why do certain areas of the world HAVE to have timezones ?

Answer 1

at different times on the earth the sun is at different positions in the sky. When it's noon somewhere, it's midnight on the direct opposite side of the earth. If a particular time was called 12 noon to everyone it would seem silly to the people where it was midnight.

Answer 2

We have timezones because we have trains.

It used to be that every city had its own local time, based on the mean sun time. If you were traveling by horse, it wasn't a big deal, who cared what the exact time was at the next town? When trains were invented and started traveling long distances, people on the trains had to reset their watches at every stop. Keeping a train on a schedule was a nightmare. Starting in the 1880's, timezones were set up, in one country after another to better facilatate transportation.

Answer 3

If we didnt, it would be 8 in the morning everywhere in the world, but in one part, id be night and they would be sleeping, in another having lunch, you'd travel from timezone to timezone, and things would seem to remain the same, but the routines would be different. it's just a lot easier that we do.

Answer 4

All the world is divided into twenty four time zones. It is because the world rotates. The Sun is hitting at a different location as it rotates thus the noon hour is in a different location. They break it down by hours.

Answer 5

the earth is continually rotating on an axis. because of this, there is a period of light and period of day; we call it day and night. the time zones are used as a system to keep track of that fact by having the times represent the position of the sun on a particular place.