Let’s spring forward!!
How many of us detest those words. Why do we have to change the time every year? Don’t they know older people struggle with changing our body clock? Of what practical use is moving the clock an hour out of wack? Have they no compassion for the poor souls of the working class required to be at work at 4 o’clock in the morning? Have mercy, powers that be.
This conundrum inspired me to delve into why, what and how we have DST.
The fault lies with a New Zealand entomologist in 1898. He liked collecting insects after his regular shift work and thought if daylight were extended in the summer it would benefit others as well. He never saw it come about, though.
Germany was the first to use DST in an effort to conserve coal during the war at winter. Britain and most of its allies followed suit. Then, in 1918, the US adopted it. It was abandoned shortly after the war in this country and then reinstituted during the 1970’s during the energy crisis.
I am shocked! This only just started back in the ’70’s! And here I thought this inconvenience had roots deep in early US history. And… that it can be repealed, because it has happened before. DST doesn’t have to be forever!
The remedy for this unavoidable dilemma of life is SLEEP. Go to bed early. Find more snoozes at every opportunity this first week.
Nena
nenaclements.wordpress.com 