Latitudes and longitudes are a prime(pun intended:)) example of the depth of human imagination.
The other being imaginary numbers which are quite a waste of time.
The GMT timezone is one which determines the clock hands of the entire world. And what’s impressive is that wheels of time are determined by nothing but a figment of human imagination, aka the Prime Meridian.
It’s quite an idea isn’t it? Sometime in the very distant past, some bloke who was fed up of being reprimanded for coming late to work despite the lack of set timings decided to take matters into his own hands and drew the line, therefore taking the globe’s clocks under his control, hence becoming the ultimate Time Lord. Or as the BBC calls it, Doctor Who.
Hehe.
Actually, it was Sir George Airy who made the Prime Meridian. #newsflash
Now, the bit of the Prime Meridian that passes through Greenwich in London and is responsible for the Greenwich mean time has quite a photogenic route. So, without further ado, Imma present the journey to the Prime destination.
The river cruise to Greenwich is a treat in itself. It gives a glimpse of all the things that come to mind when one mentions London. And yes, the London Bridge does not fall anymore. The fair lady did a capital job with the iron bars. As did Renzo Piano with a shard of glass. Aka the Shard.
The moment you get off the Thames ferry, you’ve got another one looking you straight in the eye. Except this one’s a full blown ship that delivered tea to Victorian England from Asia. The Cutty Sark was one of the fastest tea clippers and also one of the last ones cause after that, sailboats gave way to steamboats. The Cutty Sark was probably one of the precursors to Amazon, setting the trend of delivery within three days, cash on delivery, no returns. Its ancestors include carrier pigeons and the bloke who ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of Greece’s victory.
Right, Imma go back to tracking parcels on the PC. It says Order Shipped.
Greenwich Observatory has a good amount of lawns and trees cut in interesting shapes. The whole place has a huge area, complete with mini hills leading to the Planetarium.
Talking of planetariums, I am rather dicey about going into one cause the first time I went in(when I was probably five) I sat in a show meant for adults and teenagers and the ‘Big Bang’ visual had me crying in a filled audience and ever since then, I will always clarify whether or not the planetarium show contains a ‘Big Bang’ visual. Luckily, the one at Greenwich had a show for kids under ten when we visited it. So I had a good time surrounded by five year olds gasping at constellations and Mars.
Fun fact: The average temperature on Mars is 24 degrees celsius.
Finally, the Prime Meridian. Greenwich observatory has a metal line over the exact longitude to mark its existence(or the lack of it). This is the place where imagination defines reality. It is the ultimate victory of fiction. It is the definition of time. It is the crux of tides. It is ground Zero. It is the Prime Meridian.
It is also the line that divides the Earth into the Eastern and the Western hemispheres.
#geography
The Camera Obscura is a fun thing at Greenwich. It is basically a cctv camera, except using mirrors, lenses or telescopes and a light source. This is the live image showing the Royal Naval College through the camera obscura which is housed in a dark room in the observatory. You can actually see people walking on the streets, just like a modern cctv camera.
The Millennium Dome or the O2 Arena. Concert spots for some of the best artists and sporting events. The dome is big enough to hold more than 1800 double decker buses.
#randomfacts
This is a forty years calendar which I got from the souvenir shop. It can tell the days from 2016 to 2055. All you have to do is turn the pointer and read the numbers. Extremely useful for planning birthday parties for the next forty years. For instance, my birthday in the year 2050 falls on a Friday. Brilliant innit? Any early wishes?:)))
And that is a wrap!
Until next time,
Paka!