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hollydolly

hollydolly

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Location
London England
..don't forget this weekend to put your clocks back on Sat night Sun morning...

My clocks are all radio controlled or on my computers etc... except my watches..
 

fuzzybuddy said:
I still think Daylight Savings Time is one of the second most jackass things humans do. The first is not doing away with DST.
Click to expand...
In 1905, William Willett was riding his horse through the London suburbs. It came to him that the morning sunlight was going to waste. In 1907 he published the pamphlet "The Waste of Daylight", which caught the attention of Parliament.

Putting it simply, we change the clocks to make better use of natural daylight in the morning. During the summer time, we borrow an hour of daylight from the morning and shift it to the evening to reduce our energy consumption. This proved very efficient during both world wars, so much so that a two hour change was given serious consideration but that idea was eventually dropped.
 
Ironically...William Willett died of the flu in 1915 aged 58 and never lived to see his daylight saving ideas become law. Rather fittingly, in Petts Wood there is a memorial sundial, set permanently to Daylight Saving Time, to honour him.

The idea resurfaced during World War One when the need to conserve coal made the suggestion of daylight saving more pertinent. Germany had already introduced a similar scheme when the Summer Time Act was finally passed in the UK on 17th May 1916. The clocks went forward one hour on the following Sunday, 21st May.


The time changes were widely advertised in the press. To return to GMT on 1st October 1916, people were advised to put their clocks forward by 11 hours rather than turning the hands back an hour, as in those days this would break the mechanism.

British Summer Time - Historic UK
 
I'm not bothered by the change, to be honest. I absolutely LOVE dark evenings. My clocks all change automagically anyway.

I did see mention of some studies that suggest the change costs us money though. One estimate I saw was £400 annually just on energy. But then, everything costs something.
 
Let Chat GPT-4 explain the benefits of DST. :)

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a practice of adjusting the clocks forward by one hour in spring and back by one hour in fall to make use of the natural daylight. DST has been used for more than 100 years in some countries, but it is still a controversial topic with many pros and cons. Here are some of the possible benefits of DST:

DST’s longer daylight hours promote safety. According to some studies, DST can reduce car accidents, pedestrian fatalities, and crime rates by providing more visibility and less opportunity for criminals12.

DST can save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By shifting the time of peak electricity demand, DST can reduce the need for artificial lighting and heating or cooling, which can lower energy consumption and costs1. DST can also help to avoid blackouts and brownouts during periods of high demand2.

DST can boost the economy and tourism. DST can increase consumer spending, especially in the retail, hospitality, and recreation sectors, by giving people more time to shop, dine, or enjoy outdoor activities in the evening12. DST can also benefit the agriculture industry by allowing farmers to work longer in the fields2.
 

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