Ben Franklin’s Prank or Nazi Plot?
If you’re reading this, congratulations. You have survived another year of dreaded Daylight Saving Time. And I don’t just refer to the hassle of waking up an hour earlier on the account of the government, the scientists or some other sadistic, time-bending policymaker.
Daylight Saving Time increases the risk of Monday morning heart attack by 10%. Car accidents go up by 6-17%. Workplace injuries increase by 6%. And the likelihood that I will let you merge decreases by more than half.
I know. Complaining about one measly hour of sleep – and commissioning studies to support such whining – rings of #firstworldproblems. But as of today, 1.5 billion of us in the Northern Hemisphere are walking around with jacked up Circadian rhythms and we want blood.
NOTE: This early morning rage will dissipate over the course of the next week and most of us will forget all over again until the fall. So let’s strike while the iron is hot and pissed off.
War is Hell
Of course that old rastabout Ben Franklin has something to do with this. Many credit him with first proposing Daylight Saving Time (DST) as an effort to save candles. In truth, Franklin’s letter entitled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” is a joke he sent The Journal of Paris. Basically, he makes fun of the French for sleeping in late and proposes a tax on shutters, as well as the firing of cannons at sunrise to “wake the sluggards effectually and make them open their eyes to see their true interest.” What a card.
For better or worse, the idea didn’t take off. Nor did serious proposals in New Zealand (George Vernon Hudson, 1895) and Great Britain (William Willet, 1905). And things probably would have gone on that way if it wasn’t for that colossal interruption of everyone’s lives by the f-ing Germans: World War I.
To save fuel for their war-mongering, the Germans first commandeered the daylight at 11pm on April 30, 1916. Not to be outdone, the Brits and Americans did the same. When WWI ended, everything went back to normal until the master race again attempted to destroy everything good in the world. Just after Pearl Harbor, FDR instituted year-round time shifts, though they called it “War Time” instead of DST.
DST persisted after the war – though it was then called “Peace Time” – but the various time shifts really mucked up the train and bus schedules, so Congress regulated the whole shebang with the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The Act did allow states to apply for exemption, however. Only Arizona, Hawaii and a bunch of territories nobody cares about opt out of Daylight Saving Time today.
Daylight Saving Time Pros
1. DST saves energy and money. We used it during the 1973 Oil Embargo to save 10,000 barrels of oil a day.
2. DST gives families an extra hour to spend quality time together and enjoy outdoor activities in the evening, leading to healthier lives.
3. DST positively impacts the tourism industry.
Daylight Saving Time Cons
1. DST does not save energy and money. The University of California’s studies indicate that energy saved by extra light is more than eclipsed by energy spent on air conditioning to account for an extra hour of downtime at home during the warmer months.
2. DST puts children at the bus stop in the dark, making it more likely for accidents or violent crime to occur in the morning.
3. As stated above, the Daily Mail reports “the abrupt change to a person’s daily schedule increase[s] the risk of having a heart attack by 10 per cent.” Worse, another study shows male suicide rates rise in the weeks following the shift to DST. (Keep in mind, we don’t live in an M. Night Shyamalan movie – thank god, those cameos would get old fast. Thus, this risk is only heightened for “vulnerable individuals.”)
Save Yourself From Daylight Saving Time
By the time you read this, you will probably already be on your way to recovery. Tomorrow will be mildly inconvenient. Wednesday will be better. And come Saturday morning, you’ll be remarking about how much more daylight you seem to have to shut out to see your video games.
Still, there are some things you can do to ease the pain. TimeandDate.com recommends:
- A brisk walk or run to boost serotonin and other neurotransmitters that apparently “phase-advance the clock”
- Getting a few hours of sunlight off the bat, presumably to boost Vitamin D intake – sun lamps are acceptable, too
- Low dosage melatonin supplements, since melatonin regulates sleep cycles
- Eating earlier to trick that stupid old body into thinking it’s later than the clock says
Great. Now you’re all caught up on something you won’t even think about again for six months. But look at this way – it’s better than learning about the Leap Year.
Ben Franklin image courtesy of Andyrama. Go buy it!
Video courtesy of HuffPo
