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Every March and October/November we perform a custom of toggling our clocks and watches, to match the bi-annual time changes. (Daylight Saving Time in US and summertime in Europe)
That time is here, yet again. Europe’s summertime period should be ending Oct 28, (This Sunday) and USA and North America’s DST ends Nov 4th (a week later).
Some facts that I thought might interest the Forum, are as follows:-
-This idea was first conceived by an American Diplomat Benjamin Franklin sitting in Paris in 1784 but after a spark of controversy and uproar, at what was seen by many as “contempt to the creator” he took with him this idea back to the USA.
-It was then re-ignited over a century later in Britain, by a famous architect; William Willett from Croydon Surrey.
-It was Sir Robert Pearce, who introduced a bill in the House of Commons to make it compulsory to adjust the clocks that was drafted in 1909.
-Britain passed the law in 1916, second to German who had passed it 3 years earlier.
-Right now, approximately 70 countries utilize (DST)
-Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not observe some form of (DST).
-Daylight Saving Time is not observed, in places such as the state of Arizona, Hawaii (US.) and the province Saskatchewan (Canada).
-Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) do not observe Daylight Saving Time
-And lastly Egypt, Namibia and Tunisia are the only African countries that observe DST.
***On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the North American region. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November.
Many people have a natural dislike for DST. Many argue that there is an inconvenience of changing many clocks, while others find it hard to adjust to a new sleep schedule, hence branding this a mere nuisance. Scientists say that some people with sleep disorders find this transition very difficult to cope with, and there is less work productivity as people adjust to the new time changes.
I personally recall once, 4 years ago, I failed to sit a job interview, after arriving an hour late! I was only lucky that this lame excuse managed to meet sympathy from my interviewer!
What are your experiences?
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