Twice a year the media publishes complaints about changing the clocks. Politicians promise to end the practice. Epidemiological studies are claimed to prove dangerous health effects.
Back in the fifties for some reason we city folks were told daylight saving time was for the farmers. Of course that wasn't true. Cows follow the sun not the clock. But people follow clocks. I'd say Benjamin Franklin was a genius for inventing it, but I looked it up and that's a myth, too. Too bad. But it is an efficient way to manage daylight over the year. Personally I like to get up in the dark and not have daylight intrude on my morning slumber. Even with DST it's light when I rise in the summer, but at least some of that light gets transferred to the end of the day when all kinds of outdoor activities can benefit.
In the winter nobody likes it to be still dark when they're getting to work or school, so Standard Time then makes perfect sense.
The US tried eliminating Standard Time in 1974 and having DST all year, but the public hated dark winter mornings so it was dropped. Apparently nobody remembers that anymore.
For me DST is a welcomed seasonal tradition, I'll move my clocks forward with a smile this afternoon so I won't have to think about it in the morning.
DST started in Port Arthur, Ontario, apparently - now part of Thunder Bay. Some mover-and-shaker who was a big sports guy came up with the idea, as a way to have more time for baseball, or whatever his preferred sport was, on summer evenings.
The government of British Columbia recently declared that after the time shift tonight, they're going to stay on DST year-round. The experts are saying that it would be healthier to stay on Standard Time year-round. BC has been after Washington (state) and California to go on a year-round time for years, but apparently it's a little more complicated to make the change in the States; federal involvement required, or something. Yukon Territory and Saskatchewan are on year-round time; it's become a hot topic again (rejected narrowly in a plebiscite a few years ago) in Alberta because of BC's decision.
My uncle down in Prince Edward Island when I was a kid sure didn't think DST was for farmers - in fact, he refused to go along with it, and kept his farm on Standard Time year round. When you set foot on his farm, you entered a different time zone. And not a single complaint from the cows.
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Originally posted by Old Scratch
My uncle down in Prince Edward Island when I was a kid sure didn't think DST was for farmers - in fact, he refused to go along with it, and kept his farm on Standard Time year round. When you set foot on his farm, you entered a different time zone. And not a single complaint from the cows.
I lived on a dairy for a few years. the owner went along with the change but the cows of course didn't give a ****! Milking times were adjusted.
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