Saturday, October 31, 2009

Time to Fall Back

Tomorrow is Sunday, November 1. At 2:00 AM tomorrow, the United States of America will move its clock back by one hour. The “standard time” will then begin.

USA changes its clock forward by one hour at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday in March. This is the beginning of “daylight saving time”. At 2:00 AM on the first Sunday in November “standard time” begins. There is a famous saying about changing the clock in USA: Spring forward and fall back.

Why they want to change the regular time to “daylight savings time” for 6 months? About 85% of the Americans have no idea. They just change the clock because every one does that.

Benjamin Franklin conceived this idea. The main reason for daylight savings time is energy conservation. If there is more sunlight in the evening, homes and shops do not have to turn on their lights as early and therefore save energy and fuel. USA went on daylight saving time during World Wars l and 2 to save energy and fuel for the war effort. The current national system of daylight saving system was implemented in 1973 through a law passed by the U.S. Congress. This was done at that time because of prevailing oil shortage at that time.

Many people hate daylight saving time. People are irritated to change several clocks in the home twice a year. Most of the home appliances like TV, DVD Player, Oven, Microwave Oven, A/C Thermostat, and Landline Phones have clocks. This is in addition to wrist watches and alarm clocks. Many feel it contributes to sleep disorders. Some people argue that there is not that much energy savings because of constant running of air conditioners during summer months. Also, if there is more evening time, people go on many different tasks and visit friends and therefore use more gasoline.

Quite a number of people at work will come late by one hour at the beginning of “daylight saving time”. Their excuse: I forgot to change the clock. I am yet to see any employee come one hour early at the beginning of “standard time” saying they forgot to change the clock.

There are many who suggest having a compromise. Change the clock by 30 minutes only one time and make that time a permanent one.

There are some states in USA and other U.S. territories that are exempt from this change. They do not change their clocks at all. They are: Arizona, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. This is because either they have more natural sunlight or they are tropical.

Places that are located near Equator, The Tropic of Cancer, and The Tropic of Capricorn have more sunlight. The Tropic of Cancer runs through India. Therefore no time change is necessary for India.

26 comments:

  1. thanks for your insights on missing one hour on Nov's first sunday after we advance the clock from 01:59:59 to 03:00:00 . Like many age old practices we seem to be following it without questioning it's relevancy in the present world.its time we redefine it.

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  2. Very informative post, SG!Thanks for sharing the information!
    I was aware of the daylight-saving method done in Europe in the last Sunday of September(I think), but I didn't know that even Americans do it.
    And its really ironical for over-consumptive Americans to do this to save energy. It would have made sense when we didn't have electricity, but in today's world where life goes on for 24 hours, it hardly makes any sense.

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  3. amazing post SG...very interesting... I quite liked it...I knew about the time change, but was not aware of the reason...
    loved this line - Spring forward and fall back

    btw, i would have given that excuse and gone for work late too :D

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  4. Informative one SG. So no one knows why they really change!! Interesting.

    2 years back I was in CA from Oct to Jan. The hotel I stayed generated to circular which they pasted on each guest room's fridge 1 week prior to this time change.

    It was "Move your clock back by an hour"

    During my earlier visit, it was around August which had daylight savings on. What I doubt is if it really served any purpose. I mean, you want to save energy, you dont need such a rule to do so.

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  5. Thanks for your comments Rahul. Yes, we follow old practices blindly.

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  6. Thanks for your comments Varsha. Yes, in today's world it does not make any sense. In Europe, the time is changed on the last sunday in March and in October.

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  7. Thanks for your comments Neha. I am glad you like this post. You are lucky you don't work me. You will come late to work only one year. From next year onwards, on the Saturday before I will call you and remind you to change the time.

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  8. Thanks for your comments Insignia. I am glad you have practical experience in this clock changing business. As you said, daylight saving time does not serve any purpose. It was introduced as a national policy in 1973 when there was oil shortage.

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  9. very informative post, SG..as always :-)

    i didn't people could use that excuse to go late to work by an hr ;-)...at our office, they remind us Friday evening and tell us not to be late on monday...so can't use the excuse, lol..

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  10. Thanks for your comments Titaxy. You have some "thinking" managers in your office. I like that.

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  11. well, that's why i started my own firm :D

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  12. Thanks for your comments Neha. I am glad you started your own firm. I can give you some business. To start with, I have a trademark issue with a company for using the letters SG. Will you represent me? ha ha ha.

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  13. u can certainly gimme business...I will quote u for not sending legal notices anymore, as the company u r talking about is mine :D

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  14. I know that Neha. That is why I deliberately mentioned SG.

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  15. I feel that this should be done in India, a land where sun really shines..we can save lot of energy.

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  16. Thanks for your comments Renu. We should save energy in India.

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  17. I had some idea about this time change but never knew the facts!! Thanks for sharing this information with us!!
    Its well a nice excuse to come late on that day!!

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  18. My son tells me that their timing is one hour ahead or one hour behind etc. But did not concentrate to notice the period. Thanks for the information, SG.

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  19. Thanks for your comments Nazish. Nice excuse to come late to work? You can do that only for one year. ha ha ha.

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  20. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. It is easy to remember. Spring Forward and Fall Back.

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  21. I rather like this concept! Have no rational reason for this.. just do!!

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  22. Thanks for your comments P. In a sense, your approach is also correct. We will do as everyone does and do not have to worry.

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  23. companies in India (mostly BPO's and call centers) follow day light saving too, although the reason is different.

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  24. Hey wonderful post. I remember I was asked about daylight saving (as it is followed even in Europe) a couple of years back & I wish I could explain as well as you did. I managed to convey the reason but at that time, I wasn't very convinced I did ;-)

    " I am yet to see any employee come one hour early at the beginning of “standard time” saying they forgot to change the clock. " - Hahahaha :-D

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  25. sg is all abt information.. thanks a lot.. and if there is a theory there is bound to be opposition.. wats the fun with a widely accepted theory..

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  26. It's a very informative post. I didn't know much about the relevance of daylight savings and wondered why the Americans followed it.

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