Fall Back

In this episode (179) - Fall Back . . .

Going through the Farmer’s Almanac, I was curious about Daylight Savings Time (DST). Wondering why we “Fall Back”?

Tomorrow, the first Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 2 a.m., is when Daylight Saving Time ends in most areas of the United States, returning to Standard Time. Be sure to set your clocks one hour back before bedtime on Saturday night! Listen carefully, and you will hear the cynics, “Alright! We gain another hour of sleep Saturday night; why can’t it stay this way?

Moving the clocks twice a year is to take better advantage of sunlight. Face it; most folks get out of bed after the sun has risen and gone to bed after it has set. But what if the sun rose and set earlier?

“Pull that shade down. I’m trying to sleep in.”

When we fall back, we’re not really “gaining” time; we’re just giving up a little daylight in the evening and adding it to the morning. Just wait; soon, everyone will be complaining, “This getting dark at 5:00 p.m. sucks!”

Ok, but if it’s darker in the evening, doesn’t that mean more electricity will be needed to get through the night, your energy provider’s peak hours? You bet it does. If you’re interested in how you can save this winter on your electric bill, check out episode 172, Turn off the Lights.

Since Daylight Saving Time was introduced, lawmakers have occasionally seen fit to fiddle with it. This happened in the 70s, during the oil crisis. In 2007, Daylight Saving Time got longer, beginning in March and ending in November, instead of April and October, respectively. But it looks like we won’t be doing away with it soon.

Which States Don’t Observe DST?

According to U.S. law, states can choose whether to observe DST. Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii, plus a few other U.S. territories, are the only places in the U.S. that do not observe DST and stay on standard time all year long.

Indiana did not vote to observe DST until April 2006.

Before that, some counties in the state observed it while others didn’t, which caused a lot of confusion, mainly since Indiana is split into two time zones already!

What about Other Countries?

At least 40 countries worldwide observe Daylight Saving Time, including most of Canada, though most of Saskatchewan and parts of northeastern British Columbia don’t participate. For obvious reasons, most countries near the equator don’t deviate from standard time.

It's said Benjamin Franklin is to blame for all this. Well, yes and no; Ben Franklin is credited for inventing the idea of Daylight-Saving Time due to his tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor written in 1784. However, Franklin seemed to understand rather than changing the clocks; he simply advised us to change our schedules to better align with nature. That seems sensible.

Changing the number on a clock doesn’t add time to our days. Anyway, tomorrow we “fall back” into the darkness, like to or not.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks so much for listening. See you in the next episode.

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