On December 31, 1899, Captain John Phillips in command of the SS Warrimoo discovered he could do what no human being had ever done: to be in two places at the same time. On a trip between Vancouver, BC and Australia, he found himself close to both the equator and the International Date Line. So, he changed course so he would arrive at that confluence of both lineal demarcations at exactly midnight.  He succeeded. At the stroke of midnight, the front of the ship, the bow, was in the Southern Hemisphere in the middle of summer and the stern of the ship was in the Northern Hemisphere in the middle of winter. AND, the bow of the ship was in January 1, 1900 while the stern was in December 31, 1899.

This put the ship – in one instant – in two different hemispheres on two different days in two different months in two different years in two different seasons in two different centuries.

This feat would not be accomplished again until December 31, 1999 when it was repeated by the USS Topeka. The Topeka added one more twist: it accomplished the same feat as the Warrimoo but at a depth of 400 feet.