Date UTC Parser was written so that I could guarantee to either get back a UTC Date Time object, or nil - while writing some API's for mobile apps. That's all I wanted, and that's what this guy does.

Along with that, it will return the humanized UTC example string, and it contains the regex that will match that string, can be used for error handling.

Install it as a gem

gem install date_utc_parser

Require it in your app

require 'date_utc_parser'

Start using it.

unparsed_time = Time.now
unparsed_time.utc? #=> false 
parsed_time = DateUtcParser.parse unparsed_time # => 2012-07-07 18:59:02 UTC 
parsed_time.utc? #=> true 

unparsed_time = "2012-07-08T12:13:14Z"
parsed_time = DateUtcParser.parse unparsed_time # => 2012-07-08 12:13:14 UTC
parsed_time.utc? #=> true 

unparsed_time = "white russian"
parsed_time = DateUtcParser.parse unparsed_time # => nil

Fork it, branch your topic, test it, make a pull request.

I suggest you bounce your idea off of me first so you don't make wasted effort.