[jzwinck]

Again, not in Spain, where 16:00 is siesta time for many if not most shops and a closed period for restaurants. You seem to expect what you're accustomed to, all over the world. But it doesn't work that way, even for seemingly simple cases. And it isn't just Spain--for example, Hong Kong's electronic trading closes from 12:00 to 13:00. You'd have thought you could trade at mid-day on any exchange, but you can't!

[lessnonymous]

So now you have 1 piece of general data (4pm is an OK time to go shopping) and one piece of specific data (not in Spain).

With a global UTC system, you have to remember that in Spain you can shop from 1100 - 1700, but in Melbourne you can shop from 1900 - 0700. In New York you can shop from 0800 - 1600.

Every single place will have it's own data you have to remember, not one piece of general information plus a few specific pieces.

[anonymouz]

That's why I said "probably". Obviously there are local differences and customs. Nobody claims you can magically predict exact opening times for where you happen to be at the moment, but you'll find that the day to day activities generally are aligned with the local solar day, and in fact, most probably the siesta has it's reason in the extreme heat during the afternoon in Spean.