DRINKWALTER: Daylight Savings Time and "Chess" pains

Columns

November 1, 2009

Anonymous The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Sun Nov 01, 2009, 12:41 AM EDT

LOCKPORT — Daylight Saving Time ended and Eastern Standard Time began at 2 a.m. today. I’m tired already!

The darkness seems bleaker in the wee hours of the morning. Recently, our cat, Chessie, devised a new method of waking us up in the morning. One or both of us get 9 pounds of fluffy white fur standing firmly on our chests purring at 5:30 a.m. Great — that will now become 4:30 a.m.

Most of us find time changes confusing. Just remember: In the fall, we fall back; in the spring, we spring forward.

Benjamin Franklin was the inventor of Daylight Saving Time with a satirical essay he wrote on the subject in 1784. Then in 1907, an English builder, William Willett, proposed a bill to implement the concept, but was ridiculed for it. It never came to fruition in either of their lifetimes.

Daylight Saving Time was established in the U.S. in March 1918, and was appealed in 1919. Germany went with the concept during World Word I, soon after other European countries followed suit. The U.S. began practicing daylight saving once again during World War II; however, Arizona and Hawaii don’t participate in daylight saving.

This is what I found, according to the Daylight Saving Web site: webexhibits.org/

daylightsaving/b.html)

“The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time.”

Saving is used here as an adjective. It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, and Daylight Time Shifting more accurate, but neither is politically desirable.

In the U.S., 2 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home, and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.

Halloween trick-or-treaters

Through 2006, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. ended a few days before Halloween (Oct. 31). Children’s pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Halloween than on any other night of the year. A new law to extend DST to the first Sunday in November took effect in 2007, with the purpose of providing trick-or-treaters more light, and therefore more safety from traffic accidents. For decades, candy manufacturers lobbied for a Daylight Saving Time extension to Halloween, because many of the young trick-or-treaters gathering candy are not allowed out after dark. Thus an added hour of light means a big holiday treat for the candy industry.

Deb Drinkwalter is a Lockport resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Contact Deb at d.drinkwalter@yahoo.com.

Text Only

Columns

LEFFLER: The things that actually matter
To hear some people tell it, this great republic of ours is on the brink of disintegration.

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
Your friends are great ... at Facebook
The internet has been the facilitator of a lot of good things; it allows us to comparison shop without putting on pants, lets people check the weather report without having to watch the rest of the news and it’s made keeping in touch with friends and family a breeze; cruising through Facebook seeing pictures of your friend from high school’s new baby, a twitter feed full of self-promoting tweets about your neighbor’s new online start-up, a status update from your nephew that talks about meeting Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly. Reading all of these updates from the exciting lives of your friends and family while you sit at home, it can at times feel like everyone is living the dream but you.

May 17, 2012 1 Photo
The war against the English language
April 25, 2012
VINCENT DAVIS II: Oil prices and the 'Bro-conomy'
Can we be serious for a moment; not too long, but longer than usual? Gas prices are going up folks. US oil drilling is at its highest point in more than 10 years. But when Toyota Prius commercials come on TV during sporting events, we know longer make fun of them for advertising a “fake car” that “only a hippy or English professor would drive.” Instead, we think to ourselves “40 miles a gallon, that does sound nice ...”

March 16, 2012 1 Photo
‘Mailing it in’ is not good enough
The U.S. Postal Service has been mailing it in for years. It has stuck like an old postage stamp to a business model that was going nowhere fast, literally. Snail mail is still the USPS stock in trade, and it has increasingly earned its nickname. And for a poorly run operation, it certainly does cost a lot. USPS must offer competitive shipping options, guaranteed faster delivery times and overall service enhancements — or the death spiral of an American institution will continue.

March 2, 2012
Gadgets Galore
The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has come and gone, but the gadgets introduced there likely will be part of our future for years to come. Record numbers were set with attendance, vendors, and square footage of exhibit space. Innovations were unveiled, and in some cases, expectations dashed.

January 29, 2012 5 Photos
LEFFLER: I remember the scream
If you’re sick of news of the run for the White House, I’ve got some really bad news for you: It’s about to get worse.

January 3, 2012 1 Photo
Put some Apple accessories under the tree this year
December 18, 2011 6 Photos
War of 1812 has lots of connections to us
December 17, 2011
Don’t overlook freedom
November 13, 2011
More Columns Headlines

Columns

Search Results

DRINKWALTER: Daylight Savings Time and "Chess" pains

Site Map

Contact Us