In a message dated 3/23/2001 2:47:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << Ralph I am very intrigue by your question, in order to completely research can you give us a more detailed description of your source foor this information. ("the almanac" is not a deatiled listing of your source) >> There is a section in the almanac (any almanac) that gives the periods of rotation and orbit of various heavenly bodies, wherein you will see that the earth rotates in 23:56 and change. Needless to say, I can't find mine (which dates to about 1971) just now, but the same info should be in various reference books; however, take my word for it: it's true. The closest I ever got to an explanation is that the difference gets eaten up somewhere, but that strikes me as too convenient to actually work. On the othe rhand, we don't eat lunch in the dark in July. Ralph