When does day end?

At tonight's Liquor Commission an interesting problem came to mind. Just when does a day end?

The discussion centered around the termination of one liquor license and the establishment of a new license to replace it.

It was easy for the Commission to establish the date of the new license for Mr. Patel's application: 12:01AM on Tuesday, February 3.

And it was easy for the Commission to settle on the termination date for the license to be terminated, but it didn't seem so easy for me. What do you think?

The Commission decided that the existing license of the Shop n Save will expire at 12:00AM on Monday, February 2.

Now, is that one minute before 12:01AM on Tuesday, February 3, or is it 24 hours earlier? What do you think?

Look at it this way.
11:59PM
12:00AM
12:01AM February 3

It's pretty clear to me that 11:59PM would be two minutes earlier and fall on February 2. Wouldn't 12:00AM be one minute before 12:01AM on February 3, and therefore also be on February 3?

What really do AM and PM mean? AM: ante meridian, or occurring before noon. PM: post meridian, or occurring after noon. So, if a time is 6:00AM, everyone would agree that this mean 6:00 o'clock in the morning. 3:00AM? 1:00AM? 12:01AM? 12:00AM? Same thing; morning of the day.

Fortunately for the seller of Shop n Save, the Commission discussed this and clearly expressed its intention that it really meant for Shop n Save to have its liquor license for the business day and evening of Monday, February 2. Had they not elaborated and then made their position clear, I think there would have been plenty of room for the Woodstock Police Department to swoop in on Shop n Save and wreak havoc for alleged liquor sales without a valid local liquor license.

Even so, legally, on paper, does the liquor license for Shop n Save expire on the day to be written down in the Minutes of the Liquor Commission as Monday, February 2, 2009, 12:00AM? Of course, any violation would be heard by the Woodstock Liquor Commission...

So, what do you think? When does a day end? 11:59PM? 12:00AM? Vote in this week's survey.