Tropic of Cancer Monument in Rueisuei, Hualien

Postcard TW-1957358 from Taiwan shows the Tropic of Cancer Monument in Rueisuei (瑞穗) Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣), Taiwan.

The Tropic of Cancer is the most northerly circle of latitude at 23.5ºN on the Earth that may have the Sun directly overhead at the time of the Northern solstice (夏至). In 2016, this "shadowless" effect occurs at noon local time on June 20 at 23.43715°N when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent.

The.Tropic of Cancer Monument was originally placed to the west of Rueisuei Train Station in 1933. It was relocated to to the Wuhe (舞鶴) Terrace on Provincial Highway No.9 in 1981 due to expansion of the Eastern Line Railway. However, the new location is actually two kilometers south of the Tropic of Cancer.

Two additional Tropic of Cancer monuments can be found in Taiwan at Shuishang (水上) Township, Jiayi County (嘉義縣), and Fengbin (豐濱) Township, Hualien County respectively.

Daylight Saving Time Starts in 2015, But Not in Hawaii

Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts today at 2 a.m. on March 8, 2015 in most parts of the U.S. except in the states of Arizona and Hawaii, and the overseas territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. As clocks "spring forward" one hour, spring is in the air.

Hawaii is in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone; Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) is equivalent to GMT/UTC - 10h Standard Time. When the United States enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966, Hawaii opted out in 1967, mainly because there is not a large variation in daylight hours from summer to winter due to Hawaii's proximity to the Equator. The Territorial Legislature enacted a bill placing Hawaii on daylight saving time in 1933, but the law was repealed three weeks later. According to Wikepedia, during World War II between February 9, 1942 and September 30, 1945, Hawaiian Standard Time was advanced one hour to so-called "Hawaiian War Time." That was the only period when Hawaii was effectively placed on year-round daylight saving time.

Postcard US-3230216 from California shows a NASA image of the entire Hawaiian Island chain as seen from the Space Shuttle. Niihau and Kauai are in the foreground followed by Oahu, Molokai, Lanai and Maui, with the Big island in the distance. The curve of the Earth and the black of outer space can be seen on the top of the card.

ЗиС-5 Soviet Truck

Postcard RU-2908071 from Russia shows a ZIS-5, was a 4x2 Soviet truck (Russian: ЗиС-5) produced by the ZIS factory in Moscow since October, 1933. It was widely used during World War II, appreciated for its remarkably simple and reliable construction. It had been used as cargo and troop transporters, light artillery tractors, and bases for refuellers, field workshops, ambulances, portee or Anti-aircraft gun platforms.