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Why 2021 could be a shorter year than normal

By US Desk
Fri, 01, 21

Over the centuries humans have divided that time up into hours, minutes and seconds - and have created ever more accurate ways of measuring that time...

BITS ‘N’ PIECES

The Earth is moving faster than it ever has in the last 50 years, scientists have discovered, and experts believe that 2021 is going to be the shortest year in decades.

This is because the Earth is spinning faster on its axis quicker than it has done in decades and the days are therefore a tiny bit shorter.

It is not completely clear why the planet is doing this but the rotation is affected by a number of factors, including the motion of its molten core, the oceans, and its atmosphere.

The clocks may need to “skip a second”

One day is the approximate time it takes for the Earth to make one full spin.

Over the centuries humans have divided that time up into hours, minutes and seconds - and have created ever more accurate ways of measuring that time.

But, because the Erath is currently spinning a little faster, the average 24-hour day in 2021 is expected to be 0.05 milliseconds (one millisecond is a thousandth of a second), shorter than usual.

This effectively means they may have to adjust their official clocks and take away a second from the year 2021.

Tiktok reveals new policy for underage users

Tiktok users under 18 years old may find some “groundbreaking” changes in the application next time they login.

The Chinese-based lip-synching application, which has a lower age limit of 13, said users under 16 would no longer be able to receive comments from strangers, have their videos used for “duets” or mark their posts as available to be downloaded.

As per the new changes, accounts for those who are 18 or under will now be made private instead of public. The company is also changing the default settings across the app for users under 18. Unless they actively change the settings, their videos will be unavailable for download, and only friends will be able to record duets.

In TikTok’s recent statement, the app explained that it has changed the policy as a precautionary measure so that children can safely use the platform and parents’ concerns can also be allayed.