Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Daylight Savings Time: NOT a Farmers' Idea

Heh.

The history on DST reveals something a bit more....ah....greed-inspired.

...when the first DST law was making its way through Congress, farmers actually lobbied against it. Dairy farmers were especially upset because their cows refused to accept humanity's tinkering with the hands of time. The obstinate cud-chewers wanted to be milked every twelve hours, and had absolutely no interest in resetting their biological clocks—even if the local creameries suddenly wanted their milk an hour earlier.

As Michael Downing points out in his new book, Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, urban businessmen were a major force behind the adoption of DST in the United States. They thought daylight would encourage workers to go shopping on their way home.

It's already clear that "energy savings" do not materialize, nor does anyone really give a rat's patoot about "later sunsets."

Fact of the matter: it's a minor, but very visible reminder that, given enough time and money, our Gummint WILL find a way to screw with your day.

HT: What's Wrong With the World

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