January 9, 2006
Problem of the Month

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere



Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett sing, "It's only half past twelve but I don't care.   It's 5 o'clock somewhere."

At first, I didn't think this was possible and dismissed it as "a country song with bad lyrics." But after doing some research, I found that it is possible for it to be half past 12 in the U.S. and be exactly 5:00 PM somewhere else.

Find where this could be true, listing the time zone in the U.S. where it is 12:30 PM and the time zone where it is exactly 5:00 PM.





Solution to the Problem:

If it is 12:30 PM in the Pacific Time Zone in the U.S. (Pacific Standard Time), it is exactly 5:00 PM NST (Newfoundland Standard Time).   The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) would be 20:30 PM.

I thought that this was the only correct answer but Andrew Barnes sent in another possibility.   If it were 12:30 PM in Honolulu, Hawaii, then it would be 5:00 AM in Yangon, Myanmar the next day.  Since the song only stated that it had to be 5:00 o'clock somewhere (and didn't specify PM or on the same day), I gave credit for his answer (although I specified PM in the problem).   And of course, if you hear Jimmy Buffett's comment at the end of the song that "it is always 5:00 o'clock in Margaritaville," then there are five additional answers: If it is 12:30 PM in the Eastern Time zone, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, Alaskan Time Zone, or Hawaiian Time Zone, then it is 5:00 PM in Margaritaville).
Later in the week, Sassy Taylor, Sarah Wilcock, and Kristian Dewar sent in a similar solution to Andrew's: If it is 12:30 in Wyoming it will be 5:00 in Australia- Northern Territory. Again, it will be 5:00 AM the next day.

All times can be expressed in terms of UTC (which is Coordinated Universal Time) or GMT (which is Greenwich Mean Time).   I used this along with some algebra in checking all the answers that were sent to me.   In Andrew's example above, Hawaiian Time is equal to GMT - 10 hours, and Myanmar time is equal to GMT + 6.5 hours.
Set 12:30 = GMT - 10 and solve for GMT.
GMT = 22:30 (so, it is 10:30 PM in England when it is 12:30 PM in Hawaii).
Now, substitute that value for GMT to solve for the time in Myanmar:
Myanmar = 22:30 + 6:30
Myanmar = 29:00 (in other words, it is 5:00 AM the next day).

I did write to Jimmy Buffett and ask if they knew that the lyrics in their song made sense but I did not get a reply.

Click here for a listing of the time zones.



Correctly solved by:

1. John Funk Ventura, California
2. Walt Arrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. David & Judy Dixon Bennettsville, South Carolina
4. Larry Schwartz Norwalk, Connecticut
5. Praveen Nandamuru Columbus, Georgia
6. James Alarie University of Michigan -- Flint
Flint, Michigan
7. Blaine Priddle Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada
8. Carter Galbraith Columbus, Georgia
9. Tobi Kuforiji Columbus, Georgia
10. Boone Brady ----------
11. Arin Smith University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
12. Bob Bardsley Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
13. Karl Jaeger ----------
14. Noel Register Mountain View, Wyoming
15. Kate V. ----------
16. Heather Carroll Winchester, Virginia
17. Billy Sutherland Winchester, Virginia
18. Tristan Collins Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
19. Erin Fennacy Fresno, California
20. Sarah Harding Fort Collins, Colorado
21. Suzie Chhouk Long Beach, California
22. Emily Powell Winchester, Virginia
23. Russell Beaty Columbus, Georgia
24. Emily Stapp Mountain View, Wyoming
25. Ben Swartz Winchester, Virginia
26. Andrew Barnes Winchester, Virginia
27. TJ Yarbrough and Clint Geldert Mountain View, Wyoming
28. Addison Rogers Winchester, Virginia
29. Sassy Taylor Mountain View, Wyoming
30. Kristian Dewar Mountain View, Wyoming
31. Amber Micheli Mountain View, Wyoming
32. Logan Wright ----------
33. Olivia Davis ----------
34. Roni Lyn ----------
35. Mark Scott ----------
36. Bobby Arthur Winchester, Virginia
37. Ryan Watson ----------
38. Heather Brown Winchester, Virginia
39. Chantel Walker Mountain View, Wyoming
40. Jason LaRusso Wheaton College
Wheaton, Illinois
41. Tim Beierle Harrisonburg, Virginia
42. Cerena Uttal Winchester, Virginia
43. Charles Washington Winchester, Virginia
44. Julianne Harris Winchester, Virginia
45. Danny Gordon Columbus, Georgia
46. Jeff McKenzie Winchester, Virginia
47. Jessica Irick Mountain View, Wyoming
48. Jeffrey Gaither University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
49. Jamie Ciminelli Mountain View, Wyoming
50. Ben Bassett Sewell, New Jersey
51. J. R. Woody ----------
52. Bethany Rinker Mountain View, Wyoming
53. Sarah Wilcock Mountain View, Wyoming


Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher