There are very few things in the world I hate more than Daylight Savings Time. It is the grand lie of time, the scourge of science, the blight on biological understanding. ~
Ms. Franklin is so angry she added an ‘s’ where it didn’t belong. Most of us do. It’s just one more thing to despise about an idea my brother would call STUPID.
What buttinsky thought would be a good idea to shift circadian rhythms?
In fairness, the first person on record, well, any record I found, was Benjamin Franklin. Certainly not a busybody and absolutely not stupid. However, he had a reason for his ideas and his thought process was entirely sound. In his 1784 essay, Franklin suggested that people rise earlier, in expectation that they would also retire earlier. Of course, that was a long time ago. Candles and oil lamps were still the primary sources of light 200+ years ago. It stands to reason that using the sunlight for early morning light, instead of anything requiring fuel, would save money. Admittedly, that essay was satirical, but fair enough.
However, a decade later George Hudson, an entomologist, of all things, decided he needed more time to find bugs. I don’t know how that hits you, but when I read that, I was even more incensed that we’ve gone through this clock-changing ping-pong exercise for decades because of invertebrates eluding the efforts of a postal worker.
Okay. It wasn’t all down to Hudson, who wanted a two-hour adjustment. William Willett, a British businessman, also wanted to toy with daylight. He, however, wanted more time to play golf. He proposed to shift the time by 80 minutes, applying the change in four increments. This would be done twice a year–April and September. So. It could be worse.
What's in it for the Rest of Us?
It depends on who you ask.
Purportedly, rising from our slumber at an hour more in line with the sun’s timing was supposed to make us all more productive. You know, make hay while the sun shines and all that. As a nod to environmental issues, which I didn’t know was a thing in the early 1900s, using less artificial life would conserve resources. Germany is the first country to apply a version of Willett’s idea, and that was in 1916. The U.S. followed in 1918.
While it’s all well and good to have conservancy as a goal, The Week indicates that the desire for profit played no small part. In this country, at least, the Chamber of Commerce was a strong proponent. Apparently, people are more likely to shop after work if it’s still daylight. Additionally, baseball attendance had an uptick, because at that time many stadiums didn’t have the luxury of near-daylight lighting systems.
However, the article goes on to state that the masses never embraced this DST change. That was especially true of the farmers. You might ask why the time matters to those who till and care for livestock. I wondered that myself, but it makes a big difference when the clock is moved forward and they lose an hour that’s needed to get their goods to market.
DST was drop-kicked out of existence, federally, before the war was even over. However, some states preferred to retain it. When World War II came along, Roosevelt brought it back and once again it was dropped [as a federal requirement] at the end of the war. Again, the government allowed the option to retain it, so there was no consistency from state to state. Sometimes the inconsistency was within a state, as “The Week” explains, “On one 35-mile stretch between Ohio and West Virginia, buses passed through no fewer than seven time changes.” That’s at least five too many.
And what time is it now?
I think it’s time to nail the change to the wall and thrash it. Others have felt the same way for decades. Acting on complaints from constituents, legislators have proposed hundreds of bills spanning many years in an effort to put a bandaid on this plague that has complicated our lives. More than 20 years after WWII, the 1966 Uniform Time Act passed. Perhaps it was at least a nice try. Several states didn’t–and still don’t–play. There are ten states that have multiple time zones. We aren’t where we need to be. Not yet.
A few states have initiated change, however. For example, Texas passed a bill this year to put the state on permanent DST. Federally, the Sunshine Protection Act (where do they get these names???) has passed the Senate, but hasn’t yet progressed further, according to Reuters. Without a countrywide plan, the patchwork will be even worse than it is now, since we have two states–Arizona and Hawaii–which have never participated.
I do not pretend to be impartial here, in case that isn’t already obvious. Gaining an hour in the fall does not compensate for losing one in the spring, and it disrupts my routine. Ghastly, that. If people want more daylight, they can just get up earlier. Is it not that simple, or are some people just trying to make it complicated? And it isn’t just me. According to “The Week”, DST brings negative issues associated with health and productivity. You might want to read the whole article here.
I could rant longer, but I recognize my heart only has so many beats left. I don’t want to needlessly expedite its expiration date.
You?
I don’t hate DST now as much as I did when I was working. It always took me a good 2 weeks to fully adjust, especially in the spring. Indiana dumped DST for most of my adult life, only to take it back up again. But again, working in a state that didn’t change required constant explanation and reminders when working with people in one of the other 47 states. Geographically, Indiana belongs in the central time zone IMO, but that’s an entirely different argument.
Yes, I understand the challenge of a state that doesn’t change when you’re dealing with people out of state. Agree on the Central thing – splitting up the state because part of it is close to Chicago? Meh.
I’m still waking up in the mornings and getting sleepy in the evenings an hour earlier than the “fall ahead” clock time. I fully support banishing DST! 🙂
I’d prefer to ditch DST, but as long as they pick a time and stick with it, I’m good.
Thanks for the enlightenment. I always thought it had more to do with farmers. I should have known better. But in truth, “ Time is relative” ( Einstein, Special Theory of Relativity). In other words time is dependent on your frame of reference. See the situation of the Two twins, traveling at different speeds. I propose we all adopt present time based on one particular time zone. Military and Aviation use Greenwich Mean Time( GMT). That way when someone has a 2 pm appointment for a phone call with someone on the other side of the earth, there is no confusion. I mean does it really matter what the number on the. Lock face says? I know this has as much chance of happening as does the US going totally to the metric system.
Always love your blogs. Thanks for constantly challenging us.
My stepson has the same idea and I do see some challenges. You STILL have to calculate what time of day it is (generally) in the area the person lives. What if your 10:00 in the morning is someone else’s 8:00 p.m. and they aren’t interested in working at that hour? Can’t get away from the math. I just wish we’d pick either DST or standard and stick with it.
DST is Stupid.Having said that, I only have about one appointment a month and for the most part I do not know or care what time it is.
So, for that one appointment that you might have, you STILL have to change your clocks twice a year.
Set the clocks at the half hour between the time changes and leave it alone thereafter.
I hadn’t thought of splitting the baby, but I fear I am far too OCD for that to work. Wouldn’t any who used that method always be 1/2 early or 1/2 late for appointments? 😉