As much as things have been turned upside down the past couple of months, it's sometimes nice to have a "lively debate". 1 The recent discussion I participated in revolved around a specific part of a sentence that stated:
"...requirement begins at midnight Friday, July 24..."
Oh... so this begins on Friday.
Nope, the rest of the sentence concluded:
"...so, effectively, Saturday morning, July 25."
I felt that was wrong on so many levels I blurted out my disbelief in front of a couple of peers. 2
One co-worker said, "No wonder Minnesota is so messed up, you can't even tell time!" 3
Breaking down the logic
I turned around, chuckled at his joke, and ask him to clarify what he meant.
Co-Worker: Duh... read it again. It starts at midnight, so of course it starts first thing on Saturday.
Me: Really?
CW: Yeah. Midnight is the end of the day, so midnight Friday is when Saturday starts.
Me: So when I say 'noon', that means 12:00pm, right?
CW: Yep.
Me: So when I say midnight, that must mean 12:00am, right?
CW: (cautiously) Yeah.
Me: So if this begins on Friday at midnight, that means it begins as 12:00am on Friday. So how does this start on Saturday, when 12:00am on Friday is the start of the day?
CW: 
The co-worker grabbed their snack and walked out of the break room. 4