Once more this weekend, the American people are forced to endure the biannual changing of the clocks. Except for Arizona.
Lucky Arizonans.
Why we still do this in the year of our lord 2021, no one really knows other than, “This is the way it’s always been.” Which is false.
Daylight saving time was conceptualized by Ben Franklin as a way to save energy. In fairness, it was a satirical essay that Franklin wrote for a Parisian publication in 1784.
It was, however, not actually adopted formally by a country until 1916 by Germany in World War I as a way to conserve fuel. The United States followed in 1918, but ended it after the war at the objections of farmers.
So, that’s one DST myth busted. Farmers objected to the loss of an hour of morning light, as it meant less time they had to get milk to the market, since it was fresh from the cow in those days and not in a plastic jug in a supermarket cooler.
The bane of the time change was resurrected in 1942 for World War II, though it was called “War Time.” After WWII, it was a free-for-all in the U.S., as states and even individual towns were given the choice whether or not to keep DST or let it go, which led to chaos.
Hmmmm…this sounds a little familiar. I’m sure the reason is being masked from me. I could probably use a shot to jog my memory. I’ll get it locked down here quickly.
Fast forward to 1966 and Congress decided that it was time to get the country running on one clock system and passed the Uniform Time Act, which ensured everyone was on the same page, time-wise. Except for Arizona.
Lucky Arizonans.
Source: Live Science
Leave A Comment