G'morning David,

 DW> But there's another effect that makes sundials run slow close to the
 DW> solstices (both of them), and fast near the equinoxes. Added to the
 DW> perihelion effect, this makes sundials lose time *a lot* during
 DW> northern winter, and only a little in northern summer.

You remind me of the tale of the Remuera Library's 20 year-old 
sundial.

Located here in a wealthy Auckland suburb,  it attracted the ire 
of one Dr Sprott DSc - a consultant who once conducted NZ's first 
biodegradability tests for me years ago, and well-known for 
sorting out myths Kiwis adore and rely upon.

Coming across this hidden beauty one day, he pronounced to the 
local media that it had been installed back to front.  Citizens 
covered their faces in horror, panic gripping the populace until 
the current professor of engineering at Auckland Varsity came 
loudly and reassuringly to their rescue.

Sprotty fired back with hard evidence that the orientation used 
was excellent for the northern hemisphere - but useless for Down 
Under shepherds. The prof fumed in defense.

The library checked their very own references, and ceremoniously 
re-orientated the device to huge sighs of relief, allowing 
Sprott's watch to agree better with the dial's shadow while the 
defeated prof slipped quietly overseas to some very obscure 
conference.

And the Kiwi twist in the tail ?

Armed with newspaper detail of the location of this ornate garden 
embellishment, thieves nicked the whole thing a day or two 
later...

Miles.
 
___ MultiMail/Win32 v0.47

--- Maximus/2 3.01