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There are days when time just doesn't seem to go by - especially when we're bored and have nothing to do.

The past year felt particularly full of such endless days.

While we usually met friends after work for a beer in the pub, had a coffee or went to the cinema, we had no choice but to stay at home.

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It should be all the more surprising that 2020 was actually one of the shortest years in a long time.

The reason: The earth has turned faster than usual. Because even if a day is officially 24 hours, it actually lasts a few milli-moments longer or is shorter.

To compensate for this, there are leap seconds.

In 2016, we received one for the last time so far.

So far, the shortest day was measured in 2005: In that year July 5th was 1.0516 milliseconds shorter than the usual 86,400 seconds.

In 2020, however, this mark was broken a proud 28 times, reports the website Timeanddate.com.

The record day, July 19, 2020, was 1.46 milliseconds short of the standard day.

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For the first time in history, the International Service for Earth Rotation and Reference Systems (IERS) may have to introduce a negative leap second so that high-precision timing instruments continue to be correct.

Because the world will probably continue to spin faster in 2021.

According to a report in the British daily newspaper “Telegraph”, the researchers at IERS assume that the days this year will each be 0.05 milliseconds shorter than the official 86,400 seconds.

This has no effect on your everyday life, but it does affect other areas.

For example, the changed world time influences the satellite communication and navigation systems in space.

The earth used to be faster

Source: Unsplash.com/Nasa

The speed of the earth's rotation has changed significantly over time: At the moment, the earth rotates a little more than 365 times a year on its own axis, while it orbits the sun once.

That is why our year has 365 calendar days and 366 in a leap year.

A good 444 million years ago, our blue planet was much faster on the move - at that time a year would have had around 420 days.

Since then, Mother Earth has steadily slowed down.

There are various reasons for this: It can be due to the changing sea level or to shifting of the earth plates.

The moon also has an influence on the rotation of the earth.

But in the last few years it has been the other way round: The earth is rotating increasingly faster again.