27
Jan
Living in the Future, Traveling to the Past
Topic: Japan 2007
Conversations I’ve been having with friends, family, and coworkers trying to explain the time difference between the US and Tokyo - especially when it comes to arranging travel - have reminded me of a very funny exchange in an episode of the West Wing from several years ago. With help from “The Google,” I found the transcript. This is the President’s staff in Washington trying to figure out what time the President will leave Tokyo, and what time he will arrive in Washington:
JOSH
I’m sorry… 11 in the morning, 11 in the afternoon?C.J.
It’s 11 A.M.….
JOSH
So if it’s not a story until tomorrow morning then they’re not gonna have it until tomorrow night. We bought it!C.J.
We bought two days.TOBY
How?SAM
Plane ride.JOSH
When does he leave?C.J.
Seven P.M. Thursday.JOSH
Tomorrow?C.J.
Yes.JOSH
Local time?C.J.
Which local - theirs or ours?TOBY
It will be 7 P.M. Thursday in Japan when he leaves.JOSH
And he lands here when?Everyone gives each other an annoyed look.
SAM
Okay, the flight is 13 hours long.C.J.
[covers her face] This isn’t happening.SAM
He’s going to travel Eastward from Tokyo, leaving at seven pm, so when he crosses the international datelineTOBY
He will have traveled back in time to what?SAM
Three A.M.C.J.
Which puts him down in Washington at 6 P.M. Thursday.JOSH
He’s gonna land in Washington an hour before he took off?SAM
Yeah.JOSH
And that’s not a story that beats the Surgeon General?…
JOSH
This clock should be in military time.SAM
Yeah, ’cause that’s less confusing.JOSH
The man’s gone a hundred and fifty hours. How can it be Thursday the whole time?SAM
Listen. Japan is nine hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time…JOSH
Don’t.
January 30th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Ahh… back when The West Wing was still good. =)