Norway’s Arctic north wants to bring in a 26-HOUR day: Bizarre plan would see clocks go up to 13 instead of 12

The Norwegian Arctic has presented a bizarre plan to introduce a 26-hour working day, moving the clock to 13 o’clock instead of 12 o’clock.

The mayor of the remote town of Vadso in the Arctic Circle province of Finnmark sent the proposal to the European Commission to ‘give individuals the opportunity to enjoy more quality time’ with their families, Politics reports.

Wenche Pedersen, who wrote the letter to the EU, asked the commission to allow Norway to create a time zone in which days last 26 hours instead of 24 hours.

When asked how this could be achieved, she said the clock would ring 13, but added: “I don’t think they’re going to say yes, so we haven’t thought through all the details.”

Pedersen said the goal of the 26-hour day would be to give people more time to participate in “activities like fishing, hunting, learning new languages ​​or just being with loved ones,” as part of the region’s push to increase attract visitors.

The plan is to showcase the Arctic’s “unique way of life,” which Pedersen says consists of residents who focus more on spending time with their loved ones rather than rushing to take public transportation or travel long distances to get to work.

Vadso, which is near the Russian border, hopes the longer days will attract new residents to live in the remote region, which Pedersen says is now “more important than ever” in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

‘We are one of the richest regions in Europe because […] we have more time,” the mayor told Politico.

Pedersen acknowledged that the request is unlikely to be granted; the plan would at least generate some publicity for the remote Arctic.

Submitting the request to the European Commission would likely have been fruitless anyway, as one official told Politico that countries set time zones themselves, not the EU.