Random Thoughts on Changing Time

It's that time of year when we "cut a piece off one end of the blanket and sew it back on the other."  Whoever invented daylight savings time must have had a town job.

I saw a funny meme yesterday in which an agricultural expert was asked by a television reporter about the impact of daylight savings time on plants....  Some of you may not get it.  Oh, well.

If I had a normal 8 to 5 job -- is that really normal anymore? -- daylight savings time might be useful.  It would give me more time to mow the lawn in the evening when I got off of work.  I suppose that is the reason for it.  If I recall, it was originally explained to me that it was designed to reduce energy usage.  I can't figure that one out since everyone is getting up and going to work or, to school in the dark.

Ben Franklin was the first to suggest the idea of daylight savings time in an essay written in 1874 as a method to reduce the cost of light.  It was first adopted by the U.S. to begin March 15, 1918.  It was met by a good deal of resistance.  In 1919 Congress decided to make it optional at each state's discretion.

Daylight savings time was again enforced during World War II, however, after the war it became discretionary once more.  Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (which is something I remember receiving much discussion at the time although I was very young) it was determined that it should be observed uniformly by all states -- if they participated.  Hawaii and Arizona chose not to participate with the exception of the Navajo Reservation which did.  I find that interesting considering the opening comment supposedly attributed to a native American of that persuasion.

I apologize that today's post is going out a little late.  Blame it on the time change.  If it had been yesterday, it would be going out early....my mind and body are still a little confused by this trying to arbitrarily adjust the natural rhythms of the photo-cycle by moving the hands on a clock -- oh, yeah, it's hard to find a clock with hands anymore -- by changing the digits on a clock.

The animals aren't confused except by the behavior of their human caretakers.  They are wondering why they are suddenly being fed at a different time.