It's About Time - Atomic Clocks and a Wobbly World

"2009 to Arrive Not a Second Too Soon"
Space.com (December 26, 2008)

"Wait a second. The start of next year will be delayed by circumstances beyond everyone's control. Time will stand still for one second on New Year's Eve, as we ring in the New Year on that Wednesday night. As a result, you'll have an extra second to celebrate because a 'Leap Second' will be added to 2008 to let a lagging Earth catch up to super-accurate clocks...."

Aside from its effect on the Times Square countdown, most people won't notice this at all. Come to think of it, the Times Square revelers probably won't be checking their watches all that closely, either.

Still: for me, it's one more fascinating detail about this world.