Chaos of the Clocks…

Have you got used to the time change yet? I keep spazzing out when I get in the car and it says it's an hour later than it is. Of course, it doesn't help that when I'm trying to go through the digital menu on the dash to find the spot to turn daylight savings time off, the car tells me that function is not available while the car is in motion. Mental note to take care of this later! Daylight savings time (also known as DST) has a long, checkered history with much debate regarding its merits. I did a Google search for key points about how we came to adopt this sleep robber and why it still continues. Decades before DST was actually implemented, Benjamin Franklin cheekily suggested in an essay he wrote in 1784 that folks adjust their sleep schedules to take advantage of daylight and save on candle wax. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight savings time in 1916 to save fuel during WWI. Two years later in 1918, the US jumped on board with the Standard Time Act, also as part of the war effort. At the same time, the nation's official time zones were established. One year later when WWI ended, the US repealed DST as it was very unpopular, especially with farmers. From 1942 to 1945, DST was re-established in the US because of WWII and was commonly referred to as "war time." Post-war, DST was technically still in place yet each state and even municipalities could opt in or out. It was a free-for-all in time keeping. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized DST and its start and stop dates. Only Arizona and Hawaii opted to keep standard time year-round. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, the US decided to make daylight savings time year-round but after the first winter of dark mornings proved to be greatly unpopular, the yearly change-over was re-implemented. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect in 2007, extending daylight savings time by several weeks. It now begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. The value of DST is still cause for great debate, with valid points to be made on either side. The effects on disrupted sleep patterns; an increase in substance abuse (when folks stay up later due to the extended sunshine); school children traversing the streets in the dark; circadian rhythms; energy savings … the list goes on. The term "chaos of the clocks" comes from all the confusion and disruption. One complaint regarding the twice-yearly time swap is particularly niche — owners and collectors of antique clocks. Particularly clocks with chimes. I've got a beautiful old mantle clock with a dark stone case, maybe black marble or slate. It doesn't work and I've dragged my heels about getting it fixed. Clockmakers are increasingly rare, and the wait time is typically long. I can tell it's got a beautiful sounding chime, though, when I move it or happen to bump into it. It comes to life and actually ticks for about a half hour before falling silent again. Vintage clocks that are wound require very specific steps to avoid damaging the chime mechanism when changing the time. I don't dare give you the directions since it's a multi-step process and I wouldn't want to misguide a clock owner. Let's just say it involves patiently moving the clock hands and pausing at each hour to let the chime sequence play through. I suggest looking at one of the many YouTube videos on the subject. Just mind the chaos of the clocks!