Proven Mysteries
All case files

The Country That Skipped a Day

In 2011 Samoa went to bed on Thursday 29 December and woke up on Saturday 31 December. Friday never happened.

Strange countriesApia, Samoa29-31 December 2011

Apia, Samoa's capital, photographed by astronauts from the Space Shuttle in June 2002.
Apia, Samoa's capital, photographed by astronauts from the Space Shuttle in June 2002. NASA (astronaut photograph), Public domain

At midnight at the end of Thursday 29 December 2011, Samoa and its neighbour Tokelau jumped straight to Saturday 31 December. Friday 30 December never happened there.

By jumping west across the international date line, Samoa went from 23 hours behind Auckland to one hour ahead.

The reason was trade. Samoa's prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, explained that while it was Friday in Samoa it was already Saturday in New Zealand, and when Samoans were at church on Sunday, business was under way in Sydney and Brisbane. After the change, Samoa shared five working days a week with its biggest trade partners.

It reversed a decision made 119 years earlier, when Samoa had moved to the same side of the date line as the United States, also to help trade.

Evidence

  • Samoa announced the change in May 2011; Tokelau decided to follow in October.
  • The BBC reported the jump as it happened, at 10:00 GMT on 30 December 2011.
  • Samoans celebrated in the streets of Apia at midnight.

Verdict

CONFIRMED

Backed by strong, verifiable evidence.

Confirmed. For everyone in Samoa and Tokelau, 30 December 2011 does not exist.

Sources

Image credits

Published 2026-10-25. Spotted an error? Email provenmysteries@gmail.com.

More case files