Historical facts on Daylight Saving Time
1784: Ben Franklin floats idea of daylight-saving time during his time in Paris.
1907: London builder William Willett is the first to seriously push the concept in a pamphlet titled “The Waste of Daylight.” His plan: Advance clocks by 20 minutes each Sunday in April, roll them back by 20 minutes each Sunday in September.
1916: To conserve fuel during World War I, Germany and Austria become the first nations to adopt daylight-saving time.
1918: The United States gets daylight time fever. Congress approves the measure on March 19; it goes into effect 12 days later, on the 31st.
1919: Still a largely agrarian society of early risers, the United States dumps daylight time shortly after World War I ends.
1942: President Franklin Roosevelt revives “War Time” at the start of World War II.
1945: War ends, so does War Time. The option of keeping daylight time is left open to local jurisdictions. This creates a hodge-podge of time zones; according to the Web site WebExhibits.org, at one point the 35-mile drive between Moundsville, W.Va., and Steubenville, Ohio, required seven time changes.
1966: Congress creates a uniform – more or less – daylight time for the United States. States are given the choice of opting out.
1974: In response to Arab oil embargo and resulting fuel crisis, the daylight-saving time Energy Act is passed, pumping clocks ahead by an hour for a 15-month period running from Jan. 6 to April 27, 1975.
1986: Law is passed to begin daylight-saving time at 2 a.m. the first Sunday of April and end it at 2 a.m. the last Sunday of October.
2005: Energy Policy Act of 2005 extends daylight-saving time by four weeks beginning in 2007.
2007: New, extended daylight-saving time went into effect.
Did You Know
– It’s daylight-saving time, not daylight savings time.
– A U.S. Department of Transportation study found that daylight-saving time cuts electricity usage nationwide by about 1 percent a day.
– About 70 countries worldwide observe daylight-saving time. The only major industrialized nations that don’t: Japan, India and China.
– In 1999, a terrorist attack on Israel’s West Bank was thwarted when the terrorists failed to take into account the switch back to standard time. The bomb went off an hour early, killing only the terrorists.
– Data shows violent crime is down 10 percent to 13 percent during daylight-saving time than standard times, according to a study from the U.S. Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.
– Passengers on Amtrak during the traditional “fall back” might experience a delay. Trains cannot leave a station before their scheduled time, so in early November trains will stop at 2 a.m. and wait an hour before resuming. In the spring, trains become an hour behind schedule when time leaps forward an hour, but they keep running to try to make up the difference.
– Daylight-saving time is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Arizona (except Arizona’s Navajo Nation, which does observe the time change).
I would rather just have the same time all year
“…study found that daylight-saving time cuts electricity usage nationwide by about 1 percent a day”
Does this then make it 365% a year???
A prime example of “well” defined summary to the research… 😉
I think it makes people bitchy.
It’s the same time people! Just during a different part of the day. 😉
Michael:
Actually, DST doesn’t save us ANY energy. What that study means is, the day that we move time forward (today), means the entire nation uses less energy for one more hour (we use less energy in the middle of the night, i think we can agree). Whatever amount of energy that amounts to is about the same as using one percent less energy across the nation every day…. which really isn’t that big of a deal when you take into account how enormous the USA is and its energy usage.
But then again, this is all moot, because even with that (supposedly) great amount of energy saving on the day we move time forward, half a year later, we move time back again, thus using less energy for one LESS hour, canceling out ANY effects it could have had during the summer. DST is pointless and ineffective… all it does is is made the government – at the time DST was instated – feel like it’s doing something to help the nation (Which it’s not, of course).
I never knew about the 15 month thing in ’74. If I understand that right, it explains why it was so dark in the morning while getting ready for school one year, then after that it never seemed so dark.
I’d prefer DST hours to be year-round. More evening light all year.
I for one would vote for standard time year round. I work outside starting at 6 am. EST, and it is a lot nicer when the sun comes up before 7 a.m. for a large part of the year.
Oh, and another fact about time zones is that due to the width of them, the Sun rises as much as 50 minutes earlier in the eastern part of a zone vs. the western part.
I’m absolutely down with Maoman on this one 100%. Just the govt reminding everyone who’s boss.
Hi we’re the government and we control even TIME ITSELF!! So don’t phuck with us, you miserable little peons.
There have been studies on this, it not only costs more money but it increases health problems uses more energy and causes more car accidents. Check wikipedia article on it.
I work outside starting at 6 am. EST, and it is a lot nicer when the sun comes up before 7 a.m. for a large part of the year.
Headlines today
Federal troops invade Arizona, every timepiece to be set ahead one hour
Navaho nation found to be in compliance
John McCain quoted as saying “It’s time, you know it’s time”
Tomorrow’s headline
Just noticed! Hawaii also rebelling
Unnamed Pentagon official quoted as saying “If they were closer we’d invade them too”
Recent studies have found that the sun rises shortly after it begins to get less dark, and sets just after it begins to get more dark.
In the southern hemisphere, of course, the sun sets just after it begins to get less light and rises shortly after it begins to get more light
Thailand also does not recognize DST.
Maoman, You got it all wrong. The theory is that people will not turn their lights on as early every evening saving electricity. I won’t argue if it works or not. One could say that people would just turn their lights on an hour earlier in the morning, but your analysis is a joke. So is the comment that the government does it just to flex their muscles. They do a lot of stupid crap, but trying to “control time itself”? come on people, grow up.
….Oh and Michael, go take a stats class. I hope you weren’t serious.