Daylight Savings Time. What a hoax. When did all this nonsense start?
Ben Franklin invented it…as a half joke, and a dig at the French:
“Money would be saved, Franklin argued, if people rose with the sun and turned in earlier at night, replacing hours of expensive candle use with free morning daylight.” – National Geographic
But no one took it seriously…well, maybe some French folks, but apparently they didn’t lose any sleep over it.
So…jump to 1918 and people (the government) who actually took Franklin seriously. They figured people are more active during the evening (huh?) so, more daylight hours would mean less electricity needed. Maybe, if you have a rooflight. Weren’t there cities in 1918? So, after the war, farmers had the law repealed (thanks, guys). Oddly enough, it’s easier to do farm work when the world is on the sun’s schedule.
Another war came along, and so in 1942 it was re-enacted – only this time, year round. Well, adoption varied. The country was probably more like a clock quilt. So, in 1966 the Federal Government (lacking anything more useful to do) reintroduced DST. Adoption was voluntary. Only Hawaii and Arizona resisted (…beginning to wonder if DST is a tool to measure conformity and obedience…). In 2007, “W” passed a law expanding DST by more than a month and it now runs March – November.
Those who favor it quote a 1970s study which showed a 1% savings of energy. They clearly weren’t measuring the energy it takes to get out of bed. Well that was zen, and this is now: Studies have shown that more energy is lost with DST and in the southern Indiana study, electricity demand went up by $9 Million dollars.
So, you thought I was kidding about the energy it takes to get up? Read this from the CDC. DST makes existing sleep problem worse. It has consequences:
“Sleep is increasingly recognized as important to public health, with sleep insufficiency linked to motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters, and medical and other occupational errors.” – CDC
“About 60 percent of Americans feel the effects of lost sleep the Monday after they spring forward,according to the Better Sleep Council, the "consumer education" arm of sleep products manufacturers. Almost three-quarters of workers over 30 say the lost sleep affects their work — often by slowing productivity, the survey found. Several major disasters have also been chalked up to sleep deprivation, including the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Chernobyl nuclear accident, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.” – The Verge
Car accidents go up 6% in the days following the clock change. Workplace injuries go up too. Didn’t know about Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez and Challenger , but Three Mile Island, American Airlines 1420 as well.
Sleep deprivation is also a “tool” used during “interrogation” to disorient the person.
So, what made me go on this rant? A friend's problem made me think about, and research this problem more and the clock thing made it all come together.
If you have a sleep problem folks, PLEASE get with your Doctor about it…before it kills you and/or others. And yeah, that was today’s main, “hidden” message.
Now some humor (the best medicine). My cat takes care of my DST worries. You guys can have DST or whatever: I live on Cat Feeding Time.
Well, you folks have a good day…I’m going to catch a snooze.
If Zane lets me.
“When told the reason for Daylight Savings Time the old Native American person said, “Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”
I can neither find nor verify the source for that.
Sources:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/12/11186842/daylight-saving-time-car-crashes-work-accidents-fatigue
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/index.html#References
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/sleep-deprivation-accidents-disasters_n_4380349.html
