Prompt Cast
The SS Waramoo and USS Topeka: Crossing the International Dateline and Equator
TLDR The SS Waramoo and USS Topeka both made historic crossings of the international dateline and equator, allowing them to be in different hemispheres, days, months, years, and seasons simultaneously. While the SS Waramoo's crossing remains controversial and unverified, the USS Topeka confirmed its position via GPS and tested the Navy's software for Y2K bugs.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
A passenger steamer crossing the Pacific Ocean made history due to a last second decision by its captain.
01:16
The SS Waramoo, a passenger steamer, embarked on its last voyage of the year from Vancouver to Sydney with 32 passengers on board and encountered good weather conditions.
02:16
The captain of the SS Waramoo successfully positioned the ship at the exact point where the international dateline and the equator met.
03:14
The SS Waramoo was able to be in both the southern and northern hemispheres, different days, months, years, seasons, and centuries simultaneously due to its position at the international dateline and the equator.
04:08
The SS Waramoo's crossing of the international dateline and equator on December 30th/31st was initially forgotten, but gained popularity in 1942 and 1953, sparking controversies about its feasibility.
05:01
Using stellar navigation and ship clocks, the accuracy of the SS Waramoo's crossing of the international dateline and equator was only down to about 200 meters, and the ship's logs have never been found to verify what really happened, while the USS Topeka, a nuclear-powered submarine, did a similar crossing a hundred years later to test the Navy's software for Y2K bugs.
05:54
The USS Topeka was able to accurately confirm its position via GPS and experienced being in different days, months, years, seasons, hemispheres, and millennia during its crossing of the international dateline and equator.
