Ofterdingen and Kropotkin

On September 5, 1999, four young Arab men began their preparations for a co-ordinated terror attack in Israel. The attack was to take place the following day. For maximum impact they planned to detonate two devices simultaneously, at 6.30pm. The bombs were duly set and smuggled over the border. At 5.30pm the next day the four young men were speeding towards their targets when they, their stolen cars, a parking lot in Haifa and the bitumen of Elhadef Street in Tiberias were blown to pieces exactly one hour ahead of time. The would-be terrorists' error emerged somewhat later, amid the scattered debris. Israel had just fallen back to standard time from Daylight Saving Time, and while the four young men had dutifully changed their watches, their Palestinian-made bombs remained an hour ahead of them.