Dwain Northey (Gen X)

There are a lot of myths as to the origins of the ridiculous bi-annual clock touching that we do. Many will tell you that Benjamin Franklin and his Farmers Almanac was the origin for Spring Forward/Fall Back but that isn’t the truth, nor is it that farmers wanted and extra hour of daylight. Farmers and ranchers just work the time of day usually isn’t a factor, it is a get it done scenario. The truth is that it was first introduced in Germany in 1916 during World War I as an energy saving measure. The measure was repealed one year later.

Amazing how many of our modern customs were a direct result of war… sorry that could be a whole other topic for the future.

Daylight saving was reinstated in 1942 amid WWII. In the U.S. this was a shit show because some states adopted the time change and some did not. You can imagine what that did for commerce and travel. A Uniform act was passed in 1966 to switch from (ST) Standard Time to (DST) Daylight Saving Time in all states except Arizona and Hawaii that perpetually stay on ST.

I sort of understand the energy saving concern of the mid-20^th century but really don’t understand it now. There are many people that work night shift and the time change absolutely affects them. I worked in hospitals and during DST we lost and hour of pay because instead of being at work 12hours we were only there 11 but, in the switch, back we were only paid 12hours when we were actually there 13hours this was something that the powers that only worked days did not see as a problem.

That is not my only concern with the flip flop of clock touching. During the week after the shift to DST, research shows an associated rise in: Cardiovascular disease, with a 24% higher risk of heart attacks. Injuries, including a 6% spike in fatal car accidents. Stroke rate, which increases by 8%. These are actual documented concerns but still we continue with the tradition of changing clocks twice a year.

My solution is to pick one or the other and stay on it, no more clock touching. We already have defined time zone based on geography and to be honest some of those don’t make sense but to have to change an hour forward and back seem to be redundant in the present era.