“Our goal is to provide full flexibility, 24/7. If you want to cut the lawn at 4 a.m., then you do it.”
resident on the small Norwegian island of Sommarøy have petitioned to officially make it a meter - liberal zone .
UPDATE : As reported byForbes , this story turned out to be a PR stunt from a Norse government bureau that was nibble up by external media .
Have you ever wished that you had more time in the day ? Well , you ’re not alone . Folks on an island in Norway feel the same way , and that ’s why they want to get rid of time altogether . The reason : so they can havemoretime .
Residents on the small Norwegian island of Sommarøy have petitioned to officially make it a time-free zone.
The tumid idea is the inspiration of Sommarøy island resident Kjell Ove Hveding , who recently met with a member of the Norwegian parliament to put forward a postulation that would , essentially , get free of sentence . At least on their little island .
“ You have to go to work , and even after employment , the clock accept up your time , ” HvedingtoldGizmodo . “ I have to do this , I have to do that . My experience is that [ the great unwashed ] have forgotten how to be impulsive , to decide that the weather is good , the sun is shining , I can just live . ”
Although the concept of getting rid of meter voice far - fetched to foreigner , Hveding said that residents of Sommarøy — an island of about 320 that ’s well northerly of the Arctic Circle — have been conk out about their day however they want for generations .
Kjell Ove HvedingKjell Ove Hveding (second from left) and supporters of the campaign to abolish time break clock to mark the petition’s submission.
The postulation , he argued , would only put in write what the town ’s hoi polloi have already been doing for days . And this has a lot to do with how the mankind ’s stock time frame apply — or perhaps more fittingly doesnotapply — in this part of the globe .
Kjell Ove HvedingKjell Ove Hveding ( second from left ) and supporters of the military campaign to abolish time break clock to mark the prayer ’s compliance .
Sommarøy , which translates to “ summer island , ” tout bloodless sand beach that are pop with holidaymaker . But what really lay the island asunder is how fourth dimension works there . From November to January , the sun does n’t rise at all , and for 69 day — from May 18 to July 27 – it does n’t set .
Google MapsSommarøy Island, at a latitude of 69.6° N, is one of the northernmost settlements in the world.
The never - end sun has had a peculiar effect on the island ’s resident .
“ There ’s forever daytime , and we act accordingly , ” Hveding write in a statement . “ In the middle of the night , which city folk might call ‘ 2 ante meridiem , ’ you could spot children toy association football , people painting their houses or mowing their lawn , and teens run for a swim . ”
AsCNNreports , through the campaign to establish a “ metre - gratis zona ” on the island , residents hope to formally insert flexible minute of schooltime and study .
Support behind the motion is aptly symbolized by the wristwatches that residents have tied on to the bridge that link up the island to the mainland – a poignant reminder that in this footling corner of the world , at least , time can be forget .
Google MapsSommarøy Island , at a latitude of 69.6 ° N , is one of the northernmost settlements in the world .
The conception of abolishing time is sure enough appealing , but many observer have questioned how practical it would be to utilize to view of public lifetime that rely on the rigidity of time and Erodium cicutarium . For instance , public transportation , school day , and even grocery entrepot could get chaotic without having a right schedule .
Then there ’s the matter of whether it ’s even biologically possible to conserve a timeless lifestyle . concord to Hanne Hoffmann , an adjunct professor of animate being skill at Michigan State University who specializes in circadian rhythm method , a time - free universe would be abnormal .
“ The problem is that humans did not germinate in the Arctic , ” Hoffman explained . “ Our bodies have adapted to this 24 - time of day cycle generated by the revolution of the Earth . We ca n’t really go against organic evolution , and that ’s what is go on in those location . You ’re going against what we ’re programmed to do . ”
Circadian rhythm misalignment can bear upon thing like digestion and dead body temperature , and can even direct to disease . But some research has shown that humans do n’t necessarily suffer their rhythm method of birth control when they mislay Inner Light .
Whatever debate may arise over dispute time , for Sommarøy ’s residents , it is mostly about adopting a change of pace . And in a society thatregularly worships burnout , the idea might not be so sorry . The keyword is “ flexibility . ”
“ One does not need to be put into a box , ” Hveding said . “ Our destination is to provide full flexibility , 24/7 . If you need to cut the lawn at 4 ante meridiem , then you do it .
As noted in the beginning of this article , the news of a Norwegian island working with elected officials to get rid of time turned out to be an elaborate ruse to increase tourism to the country .
According to a report byForbes , Visit Norway , the Carry Nation ’s prescribed tourism agency , had sent out a crush sack announce the time - innocent proposal of marriage for the island to reputed metier outlets such asBBC , theGuardian , CNN , and others . The proposal , as it turns out , was merely a PR stunt .
The read/write head of governing entity Innovation Norway , which oversee Visit Norway , has put out an excuse for the ruse .
“ I would like to make a light apology , and promise that we will not do such a thing again , ” Innovation Norway Director Håkon Haugli told local newspaperAftenposten . Not only has the revelation damaged Norway ’s already vulnerable repute in relation to its treatment of fake news , it also cost the country ’s taxpayers , literally .
A interpreter for Visit Norway revealed that the PR stunt be the means 483,000 Norwegian krone or $ 57,000 which is fundamentally an one-year salary ’s worth for a Norse public servant . The money move to brood fee for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico representation that the government arm take for the stunt in Oslo and London .
The breakthrough of the elaborate stunt , which included grass photos and videos designed for the artifice , has been met by impenetrable literary criticism by the Norse press , media expert , and even from Norse Prime Minister Erna Solberg .
After reading about the Norse island that wants to abandon time , learn somemind - blowing fact about the sun . Then , read aboutSt . Kitts , the Caribbean island of drunk monkeys .
