So Daylight Saving Time, what the heck! You American folk out there just changed a week after all of us here in the UK, so now that it’s dark before 6 o’clock in the evening I have to ask the question: Why the heck do they call it Daylight Saving Time? From where I am it seems like all that happened was I lost an hour of daylight that was diminishing quickly enough all by itself thank you very much.
Okay, I know that people who get up early in the morning will now have a little more light, but come on, how come the early birds get this treatment? What makes them so special?
I don’t get it; we’ve added an hour of daylight to the morning rush hour, but it’s not like that hasn’t been countered by the fact we’ve lost an hour of daylight in the evening rush hour. I just don’t see where the saving was. Who benefitted from this? It should be called daylight robbery if you ask me.
What was wrong with 6 o’clock when it was 5 o’clock, or was that the other way around? I’m so confused! Why do we do this, this is cruel and unusual punishment. My cell phone asked me if I wanted to accept the Daylight Saving Time change, but really, what choice did I have! No Mr Cell Phone, I don’t want to, so what are you going to do about then, huh?
I realize that the actual term ‘Daylight Saving Time’ is an American one that refers to change that is done earlier in the year, but such is the way that Americanisms have bled into global electronically communicated use, the term is now used across the English speaking world. My Mac, my cell phone, my TiVo, my web server, they all refer to Daylight Saving Time at both ends of the year.
I just don’t understand why we have to have to change time in the first place. Someone told me it had something to do with farmers. Farmers! What the heck? What do farmers do in the morning that is so important that they couldn’t just adjust their day slightly. How many farmers are their anyway!?
Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time, apart from the Arizona Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona, which for some reason does. Indiana sits in two of the United States nine time zones and, until last year, had a patchwork or counties that did and didn’t observe Daylight Saving Time in their respective time zone. I can only imagine how confusing that must have been for people who left the comfort of their homes. But I suppose it wouldn’t be as confusing as the time difference between us and Ethiopia. I have no idea if that African country observe Daylight Saving Time, but they’ve only recently celebrated the millennium. It’s currently the year 2000 in Ethiopia, so an hour here or there is insignificant when you’re having to change your calendar by seven years!
Back here though Daylight Saving Time is inherently unfair, so here’s my proposal. We’ll alternate the direction of the one hour change every year so morning people and evening people are represented once in a two year time period. It’ll work like this; one year the early rises get their extra hour of day light, then the next year people who prefer the light evenings get the hour added to their favorite time of the day. That way everybody is treated fairly. Come on, this could work! We’ll call it Daylight Fairness Time, reflecting the fact that sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.
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End daylight saving time
Ethiopia celebrates the millennium
President Bush meddles with the time
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2007 at 5:24 pm
well i think its all an effort to try and keep light at the same time year round- to maximize our light during the day and darkness during the night time. but i dont know…
personally, I think the whole world should drop time zones all together and go to the same time. So, it’ll be 1 am all around the world.. for some people that’ll be dark, some people that’ll be light just depending on where you live. There’s no way my plan will get adopted but i still think its a good one.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2007 at 8:20 pm
“personally, I think the whole world should drop time zones all together and go to the same time.”
The problem is, everyone is going to want their noon while it’s bright out, and their midnight when it’s dark and the kids can go to sleep and you can watch Cinemax. It would be no fun to watch Cinemax while the sun is shining.
In Ecuador, we had no daylight savings. It was always the same time year round, and it always got dark at 6.30 p.m.
I hate it when, after 3 months of being used to it not being dark until 9 p.m., suddenly, you look out while watching Gilmore Girls, and kaboom! Dark. Oh well.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2007 at 8:49 pm
DST was instituted basically for farmers. By “springing forward” in the Spring it got light outside sooner so they could get in the fields sooner.
I don’t think there is much BUT farmers throughout the Midwest.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Rachel, that is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard! :-)
Now, about the farmers… I still don’t understand the need to change time for them. Japan abolished DST because of the farmers! But the question remains, with no less hours in the day and no more actual real daylight, why do we all have to alter time so the farmers don’t have to change the days slightly. Seems like the needs of the few outwighing the needs of the many if you ask me.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 6, 2007 at 11:36 pm
hey, at least i’m open minded. Sure, there’s a few kinks in my plan… i’m still working those out. ;) but hey, at least it would help people understand that every country has its own interpretation of time.
hehehe
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2007 at 12:20 am
I dont know….it just screws me up for a week or two.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2007 at 2:40 pm
last night, we took our after dinner stroll (that’s the evening meal…since you probably call it something else….and we just have Americanisms….) completely in the dark. I am with you, I don’t like it and I did rather enjoy my morning latte with the sun on its way up in stead of in full view.
Wrote the following comment on Nov 7, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Very Nice! I have to agree….where I live there is the added bonus of Deer Season! So I get an extra hour of darkness while trying to drive home hoping some horny buck doesnt decide to jump out in front of me while chasing some tail….lol