We received an announcement the other day from our corporate office in London. The announcement was dated and stamped with the GMT for when it was released.
This got me to thinking about the meaning of GMT, which sent me off on some random ramblings.
GMT, Greenwich Mean Time.
is there:
GST, Greenwich Standard Time?
How about GDT, Greenwich daylight time?
Then, I shifted focus to the M in GMT.
Why do we reference things to a “MEAN” time?
Why not GHT, Greenwich Happy Time?
Is GMT even the statistical “mean” time?
Is it even possible that the instantaneous time on all timepieces in the world is such that 1/2 of the clocks are behind, and 1/2 of the clocks are ahead of GMT?
I have not checked on a globe, but is Greenwich exactly 1/2 way around from the International Date Line?
What about land mass or population versus time zone? Is Greenwich at the midpoint of time on Earth by any measure?
My final thoughts are that we need to replace “mean” time with a kinder and gentler name. While happy or joyous would be wonderful, my personal thoughts run toward GRT or Greenwich Reference Time. After all, Greenwich is just a reference point for time. I doubt that the people living there are unusually mean.
Chas