Celebrating 12:12:12 12/12/12: Fans around country mark the time and date — but only briefly
What were you doing shortly after noon on Wednesday, when properly calibrated digital clocks throughout the Central Time Zone read 12:12 and maybe briefly 12:12:12, and you could mark the time and date as 12:12:12, 12/12/12?By: By Chuck Haga, Forum Communications, The Jamestown Sun
GRAND FORKS — What were you doing shortly after noon on Wednesday, when properly calibrated digital clocks throughout the Central Time Zone read 12:12 and maybe briefly 12:12:12, and you could mark the time and date as 12:12:12, 12/12/12?
Most people probably worked, talked, slept or ate right through it, oblivious to or unmoved by the symmetry.
But some paused, maybe reverently, though not as reverently as that moment nearly a quarter century ago on June 7, 1989, when you could note the exact time as 1:23:45, 6/7/89.
Around the country, USA Today reported, many couples chose the last repeating number date of the century to get married, securing an easy-to-remember anniversary date. Others lined up for a Bruce Springsteen-Jon Bon Jovi benefit concert in New York for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Thousands more gathered to meditate for world peace in Auckland, New Zealand.
In Newfolden, Minn., 12 students and staff at Marshall County Central High School who won a trivia contest enjoyed a 12/12/12 dinner, prepared by the gourmet cooking class.
“At 12:12:12, we had a ‘special moment’ while eating,” said Josh Tharaldson, a science teacher and one of the winning staffers. “I think there were 12 different items on the menu.”
Curt Stofferahn, a professor of sociology at the University of North Dakota, was working on end-of-semester duties when he went on Facebook to mark the moment — and kill time.
“I’ll find anything to distract me from grading papers,” he explained.
Dave Kostka, Fargo, gave the date a sports theme: “To honor 12/12/12, please tell me who is your all-time favorite #12 in sports,” he posted on his Facebook page. “Mine is Ken Stabler closely followed by Roger Staubach.”
Bob Kallberg, a retired radio-TV journalist living in Bismarck, was giddy.
“It is now 12:12:12 on 12/12/12!” he wrote on Facebook. “There are 12 days left to Christmas Eve, so take a 12-minute break and get 12 friends to sing The Twelve Days of Christmas. … Gonna’ be a long time before you can do it again.”
Some folks likely did their digital dancing 12 hours earlier, when the lineup first occurred shortly after midnight.
Some people, say, those who believe their horoscopes, may seize on such rare moments in time to make critical decisions, take stock of their lives and resolve to be better, or maybe buy a lottery ticket.
How about being born just at the right time and having 12:12, 12/12/12 stamped on your birth certificate?
If you’re really into numbers, note that the day, month and year line up in order seven times a century, such as Feb. 3, 1945 — 2/3/45 — or May 6, 1978 — 5/6/78. We’ll have to wait a while for the next one: Jan. 2, 2034.
And, of course, lesser sequential markers of time occur twice every day, such as 12:34 a.m. and p.m. Each time, you can wait 56 seconds and register it as 12:34:56.
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