Sunday, March 14, 2010

Blame It On Ben...!


Whether you do or don't agree with the idea of Daylight Savings Time...It's here!

Every year the debate is joined by many folks about whether or not DST is a good thing or bad thing! Doesn't matter much, because the PTB have decided that this practice is here to stay...at least for now!

Here is a bit of history about this practice that you may or may not know

Today is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, time for moving the clocks one hour ahead. The exceptions are Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

Credit for Daylight Saving Time belongs to Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested the idea in 1784. The idea was revived in 1907, when William Willett, an Englishman, proposed a similar system in the pamphlet The Waste of Daylight.

The Germans were the first to officially adopt the light-extending system in 1915 as a fuel-saving measure during World War I. The British switched one year later, and the United States followed in 1918, when Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which established our time zones. This experiment lasted only until 1920, when the law was repealed due to opposition from dairy farmers (cows don't pay attention to clocks). During World War II, Daylight Saving Time was imposed once again (this time year-round) to save fuel.


Now, I'm a pretty flexible kind of guy, and I'll even admit that I like the extra light at the end of the day. It's especially nice to have some extra sunlight after a long and miserable Winter.

Anyway, don't forget to reset the clocks, OK? Remember "Spring forward, Fall back!"

Now let's get some fresh coffee, my friends, and sit outside for a bit.

16 comments:

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

They have now shown in studies that there´s an increase in heart attacks by over 5% they days we change to summer and normal time. I think they should stop it all opver the world. We don´t change until the laste weekend in March.


It doesn´t save that much when one lives as far north as I do. During summer we only have abround 4 hours of darkness here, in some places even more north they have sun even at midnight :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

HermitJim said...

Hey Christer...
I can't even imagine having allo that daylight!

Guess folks that can't sleep diring the day are in a lot of trouble, huh?

Hey, thanks for coming by , my friend!

Anonymous said...

Just enjoy it. We have more than day light saving tme to worry about. Use the extra hour of light to work in the garden.

See Ya.

JoJo said...

Good Morning My Special One, As you know I live in AZ so I stay the same. I like it that way. But when I worked and had to set up meetings all over the country you had to know what time it was everywhere and coordinate so everyone could be on the phone at the same time. They all wished for one time zone. Well thanks for the little history lesson.
Coffee smells great.

HermitJim said...

Hey Tony...
Sounds like good advice to me! Besides, the fishing ain't bad, no matter what time it is...don't think they keep time too well!

Thanks for the visit, buddy!


Hey JoJo...
Must have been a nightmare at times, keeping track of all those different time zones! But you could keep it all under control, I'll bet!

Hey, Sweetie, I sure am glad you could come by today!

Mechanic in Illinois said...

Hermit,I like the extra hour of daylight in the evening. Gives us time to play and work in the garden. Thanks for another good history lesson.

Ben in Texas said...

HEY!!! When I first read your title this morning I was offended, cause my first name is BEN!! Then I read the whole thing. :-) yep, I blame ole Ben my self. This time change is so silly, you can't stop or slow down the sun rise!!

Ken said...

...clocks ?...i wish there weren't any...i'm mobile from dawn to dusk anyway,clocks just tell me when to go to a 'job'...

...go to sleep when tired,wake up at sunrize,it's hard fer me to sleep when the suns up...

upinak said...

Okay for Alaska this is kind of a mute point.

In the fall... we fall back and guess what it is still dark. IN the spring, we gain so much light that when we spring forward.. it is still light.

Alaska legislature is thinking about abolishing it. Would be nice but then you all would be interesting to try calling when it is EST, or PST.

Such is life in Alaska. :)

HermitJim said...

Hey Mechanic...
I think a lot of us are up and running at the same biological time anyway! Time is just for a way of measuring how long until the coffee break!

I appreciate the visit today, my friend!


Hey Ben...
The funny thing is...Franklin originally wrote this piece to poke fun at the French for sleeping too late! Jokingly figured up how much candle wax they could save just by changing the time!

Don't worry, buddy! I wouldn't blame you for anything like this!

I thank you, Sir, for coming by today!


Hey Ken...
The first thing I did when I retired was to take off my watch! Haven't worn one since!

Quit tucking in my shirt tail at the same time...

Thanks for coming by, my friend!

HermitJim said...

Hey Upinak...
It must make you a little crazy sometimes, I'll bet!

I'd like to visit Alaska sometimes...bet it's beautiful! Might be just the place for a Hermit, ya reckon?

Thanks for dropping by today!

upinak said...

It is very pretty up here. Summers are the reason I stay in Alaska. Lets face it -20 for weeks is not my idea of fun. But the best time to see Alaska is End of May, beggining of June.... but bring a jacket as it still gets chilly for you all down in the lower 49.

FYI, I commented on yout Duct Tape thread. Go read my friend, you will get a giggle.

HermitJim said...

Hey Upinak...
I have heard that it was a pretty state! Summer would be my favorite time as well, I'm thinking!

Really like the idea of all the wide open spaces, I'll admit!

Thanks for the info...

Felinae said...

Hi Uncle Hermit,

Thanks for the history lesson.

Have a good day!

Hugs~Fel~

TEAM HALL said...

Good evening Jim!! I guess I'm not the only one out of sync with the time...found a cute little skunk on our front porch today! Shouldn't he be out and about when the sun goes down?!
Anyway, hope you had a great day!!
Hugs to you waaaaaaaaaay down there in Texas!!

HermitJim said...

Hey Felinae...
Bet you already knew this stuff, huh?

Well, I'll try and come up with something new next time...!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Cath...
I figure they might just be confused with the weather like some of us!

Just don't make him nervous, ya know?

Thanks for the visit, girl!