Who remembered what today is? (Sun 9 Mar 2014)

[Don Boyer]

In the US and Canada, Daylight Saving Time starts today (better known in some countries as Summer Time)!

From 01:59:59, your clocks jumped to 03:00:00 - spring ahead.  It just happened in the Eastern Time Zone and is working its way west, one hour and one zone at a time...

Let's hope if you've forgotten that at least you don't have to be anywhere this morning... 

REMEMBER: all Kickstarter projects are listed in Eastern Time!!  At this time, that means they're all on Daylight Saving Time and may be closing an hour earlier than you originally thought if you didn't change your watch or clock yet!

[bhong]

I think it's less an issue of who remembered what today is and more of an issue we really wanted to remember what today it. Losing that hour sucks quite a bit. I think there are studies proving that business lose more money in productivity due to the hour of sleep lost by workers than gaining anything back.

[Don Boyer]

I think it's less an issue of who remembered what today is and more of an issue we really wanted to remember what today it. Losing that hour sucks quite a bit. I think there are studies proving that business lose more money in productivity due to the hour of sleep lost by workers than gaining anything back.

On the contrary - by having the extra sunlight later in the day, businesses save money during Daylight Saving Time because they're using less electricity on lighting and there are fewer traffic accidents as people drive home.

[John B.]

my phone and computer update automatically. and everyone reminds me so yea...

[Don Boyer]

It could be worse.  Realizing that having more light later in the day allowed for using less power on lighting, the US Government instituted "Double Daylight Saving Time" during World War II.  The clocks were set ahead TWO hours for the summer, not just one...  But then again, the changeover was for a shorter period of time - we've been gradually lengthening the amount of time we spend on DST in the US and Canada.  We now spend more time on DST than on Standard Time - which kind of makes it the de facto standard, when you think about it...

Reading more on benefits and drawbacks, it's largely thought that it's favored by urban areas, retailers and companies that offer entertainment outside the home and not dependent on a lack of sunlight (such as a sporting event [anything from professional to "pick-up" games] or an outdoor concert).  It's opposed by agrarian communities and companies offering entertainment that is dependent on a lack of sunlight (such as fireworks displays, naked-eye stellar observation, outdoor projected "movie-in-the-park" presentations or drive-in theaters).  As there are more Americans in the former category, DST tends to be more popular in the US.

[DarkDerp]

I know Arozona doesn't observe daylight saving. Unless you are in Arizona and on Navajo land cause they do.

[Don Boyer]

I know Arozona doesn't observe daylight saving. Unless you are in Arizona and on Navajo land cause they do.

Interesting - many Native American reservations DON'T observe DST.  I'd bet it's more prevalent in the southwest than anywhere else, because they get so much sun in the first place they hardly feel the need to "save" any.

I did also learn that the US didn't adopt DST as a regular part of the calendar until the early 1970s, as a result of the oil crisis and the rapidly rising prices that resulted, stagnating the economy and causing a recession.  It's actually still within Congress' power to revoke DST, should the majority of Congresspeople feel the need to do so.

The things you find on Wikipedia...