I made it this week after all. However, I wrote this post on Wednesday. You won’t find my name on the Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge page though because I’m late posting and missed the sign up time. This week’s topic is:
Week 11: Keep Daylight Saving Time?
I guess it comes down to liking more daylight in the morning or evening. Since the question asks, my answer is “I’d rather do away with Daylight Saving Time.” I can’t give a specific reason as to why. Sure, like most others, I like long summer evenings, but we’ve had this change for so long, I don’t remember what a winter evening is like without a time change. My oldest son mentioned to me the other day that he now has time to mountain bike ride after work because it’s still daylight in the mountains. Those who work all day get to see sunsets.
How about a history lesson? Apparently, Daylight Saving Time isn’t as new as we might think:
Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I. At that time, in an effort to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power, Germany and Austria took time by the forelock, and began saving daylight at 11:00 p.m. on April 30, 1916, by advancing the hands of the clock one hour until the following October. Other countries immediately adopted this 1916 action…
From WebExhibits website: http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html
The 1960s:
According to the WebExhibits website, in the early 1960s in the US, time changes were quite inconsistent until a dedicated time-frame had been figured out. One survey by the Committee of Time Uniformity found:
…on the 35-mile stretch of highway (Route 2) between Moundsville, W.V., and Steubenville, Ohio, every bus driver and his passengers had to endure seven time changes!
Also from WebExhibits website: http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html
By 1966, some 100 million Americans were observing Daylight Saving Time based on their local laws and customs. Congress decided to step in and end the confusion, and to establish one pattern across the country. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S. Code Section 260a) [see law], signed into Public Law 89-387 on April 12, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson, created Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday of October. Any State that wanted to be exempt from Daylight Saving Time could do so by passing a state law.
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html
Here’s a good tidbit of information at this History Channel link. https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-daylight-saving-time
This is a blog hop that happens on Friday from Marketing for Romance Writers. Click HERE to visit participating authors.
Stay safe and well everyone. Four days ago when I wrote, Worldwide Alarm and Anxiety: Coronavirus, Covid-19 had not reached my state. So much has changed since then, and it has reached us, my county, and many surrounding counties. After confirming two cases the first day, overnight, we had a dozen cases with over one hundred more being tested. Last night, our governor ordered all schools be closed for three weeks so far beginning Monday the 16th. Other states are doing the same thing.
Please be as safe as you can. Think of those whose health is in jeopardy and keep healthy for them. We all have to do our part in helping to stop this Pandemic. How many of us have never heard that word used in our lifetime? After this, I hope we never hear it again. Remember, the percentage of those who survive this is much higher than those who do not.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay by Syaibatulhamdi
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance 