The Cult leader Jim Jones instructed over 900 members of his church, "People's Temple", to drink a soft drink brewed in a tub with cyanide and sedatives at a mass meeting at the Jonestown camp, the bodies were later discovered at a camp in the Jungle. The cult leader was being investigated by American Authorities for conditions at the camp and Jones was also being investigated for tax fraud. Prior to the mass suicide Jones had a number of his followers shoot reporters and the head of the investigation team Congressman Ryan.

Standard time in the U.S. went into effect at noon for the first time due a decision of the American Railway Association. The actual local time, or "sun time" constantly changes as one moves either east or west. With the arrival of railroad travel, the situation raised problems for railway lines and passengers trying to synchronize schedules in different cities. The need for a system of standardized time was evident. The system adopted was first proposed by Charles F. Dowd (1825-1904), a school principal in New York state. North America was divided into four time zones, fifteen degrees of longitude, and one hour of "standard time" apart. Sir Stanford Fleming proposed the extension of the Dowd system to the whole world with 24 time zones.