I don't think most of those exist, actually. If nobody is observing (for example) +6:45, I wouldn't count it as an actual time zone.
Even :30 tzs are fairly rare, I think the number of :15/45 is counted on one hand.
I'd expect it to be used in say astronomical observations, where this sort of thing actually matters and isn't treated as made up or subject to stupid opinions. Or other kinds of calculations that need the sun's position to match more accurately.
Not really. The time zones are pretty crooked so that the borders go through desolate areas. Only place that really happens is near Chicago.
The time zone change happens even further afield than the furthest exurbs of Chicago. The places there are well and truly rural.
And of course, it's very convenient to be in the same time zone as most of the EU.
I wish we also switched to permanent DST here, by the way. Daylight at work is useless now that most of us work in offices. I'd rather have it in the evening when I can actually enjoy it.
Well actually there are 96 of them in practice, I think it's tracked in increments of 15 minutes since anything less is a bit meaningless.
Of course in reality it's continuous so there are infinite timezones, but the only practical thing we can change are hours so minutes don't get offset and make planning even more of a nightmare. If we used a more sensible base 10 time keeping one could probably do more.
> picture how annoying it would be if you crossed a timezone line on your way to your (or your child's) school
I'm pretty sure this happens in the US to people on a daily basis? It's the unfortunate reality of living on a rotating sphere that you really can't avoid if you cross country/state lines often.
> they try to be useful
I don't see how it's useful to keep west Spain 2 hours late to their actual sunrise time. It must be rather maddening.