Dear Dr. Science,

Why are the time readings on bank signs different than the one in my car?  I am ahead of schedule or behind?

------------------- Richard Sherwood, Maplewood, MN

It depends on both the direction you're traveling and your velocity.   I think it's interesting that you assume bankers would know the time better than anyone else.  As anyone whose ever worked in a bank knows, time often stands still.   Besides, Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity tells us that time in a moving vehicle is not the same as time at a stationary object.  Of course, the whole planet is spinning at 1050 miles per hour, as well as rotating around the sun at great speed.   Then, the solar system is moving through deep space at some fantastic velocity.   So it's a wonder anybody, anywhere, ever knows what time it is.