# Daylight savings time **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2002, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298 "2002-04-07T10:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/21 "2002-04-08T11:20:13Z")
Oh, the metric system works pretty fine even for everyday stuff. After a lot of hard work, we Continental Europeans have even convinced the British to accept this 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sirjamesp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sirjamesp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirjamesp)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/22 "2002-04-08T12:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Schnitte \* > Oh, the metric system works pretty fine even for everyday stuff. After a lot of hard work, we Continental Europeans have even convinced the British to accept this 😃 Ask the average Brit how tall he is. You won’t get the answer in metres. Ask him how much he weighs. You won’t get it in kilograms. Ask him how far it is to the next town. Kilometres won’t come into it. And then pop down to the pub and see what measures the beer comes in. “Everyday stuff” my ass. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/23 "2002-04-08T13:07:34Z")
I find it interesting that the time of the year we refer to as _standard_ time lasts for only 162 days (about 44% of the year), while DST (i.e. a _deviation_ from the so-called “standard”) lasts 203 days, more than half of the year. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/24 "2002-04-08T13:15:35Z")
All I know is I had to drive to work in the dark… and I lost more than an hour of sleep this weekend because as I tossed and turned, every time I looked at the clock, I thought “Dang, it’s _really_ an hour later!” I figure I’ll get caught up in another 2-3 weeks… \ ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/25 "2002-04-08T13:48:03Z")
Yea! DST is here!!! I put my 1 year old to sleep at 7:30, so soon it will still be light afterward and I’ll be able to work in the garden at night. Yea, yea, yea!!! ::little happy feet dance:: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/26 "2002-04-08T14:04:07Z")
I prefer Assure by Nexxus. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/27 "2002-04-08T14:29:02Z")
Please disregard that. I thought I was posting a new thread in IMHO. Sheesh. Weird, I am. ANyway, does anyone remember back in 1973-4 when it was dark in the morning becasue they decided Not to turn the clocks back to “save energy”? ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/28 "2002-04-08T15:10:32Z")
Whoever said that bit about overspending at the mall was RIGHT ON. I don’t even LIKE the mall, but yesterday I went there on a whim, and spent money I don’t have on a skirt and two tops. Now I’m seven bucks overdrawn. And really hungry right now. ☹ I have to say, though, that the one good thing about the time change is that my dogs have not adjusted yet, which means that I get to wake up before they do! No cold little noses prodding at my elbows in the morning. No doggie-equivalent clearing of the throat (a loud sigh and a big, tag-jingling shake, then a rest of the chin on the edge of the bed) to indicate that it’s Morning Poo Time. No impatient clacking of toenails on the hardwoods when the Potty Time Pacing begins… (I can’t tell you how annoying this is on the weekends.) I woke up at 6:45 this morning (as usual), and stared at the ceiling for a minute, trying to figure out what was different… It was that THE DOGS WERE STILL ASLEEP. Still programmed for 6:45 Standard Time. It was great. 😃 I stayed in bed (awake) for an extra ten minutes just to bask in the glory. 🆒 A week from now, I will not have this luxury. ---
**Author:** ![Eggles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d9b06d/32.png) [@Eggles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eggles)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/29 "2002-04-08T16:08:36Z")
Here in Australia we have just reverted back to standard time after DST. I _love_ DST as I can work in the garden after coming home from work. I was surprised to read that not all the US States have to conform. How on earth do businesses manage? In Oz, we have seven States, and each _State_ can decide if they want to follow DST. I think only one - Queensland - doesn’t. Some throwback to the time when their Premier (State leader) was a silly old duffer who probably thought his pumpkins or peanuts wouldn’t grow as well. (My apologies to any Joh supporters - is he dead yet?) I have to agree with **sirjamesp** re the metric system (now how did _that_ get in here?) - in that even though Australia has been ‘metricated’ for many many years, people of my era (over 50) still think in terms of feet and inches for height, not metres, stones and pounds for weight, not kg, although I must admit I now think mainly in terms of km for distances, not miles. May be it depends on how often you need to use a particular measure? ---
**Author:** ![Lockz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Lockz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/30 "2002-04-08T16:24:59Z")
Saskatchewan, Canada also doesn’t use DST, for those who are interested. ---
**Author:** ![Eggles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d9b06d/32.png) [@Eggles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eggles)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/31 "2002-04-08T16:29:22Z")
I have just noticed that the Straight Dope time hasn’t changed back to standard time from DST for the east coast of Australia. It’s saying an hour ahed of what it should be. Can someone fix it? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/32 "2002-04-08T17:51:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lawoot \* > \*\*I always laugh at the farmers who claim that DST throws off their cow’s milking schedules. The cows have NO IDEA what time it is. Just admit that it messes up YOUR schedule and get on with it. \*\* Actually, it does throw the cows off schedule. Sure, they have no idea what time it is, but they also have no idea why the milkman comes around an hour earlier either. As for why an hour would make a difference in a cow’s schedule, you’ve got me. Here in Indiana, we don’t switch either. “Welcome to Indiana! Please set your watch back 64 years.” ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/33 "2002-04-08T18:32:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\* > Sure, they have no idea what time it is, but they also have no idea why the milkman comes around an hour earlier either. \*\* Which unfolds the question why the milkman has to come around an hour earlier. He could ignore DST on his private schedule altogether, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/34 "2002-04-08T20:06:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Schnitte \* > \*\* > > Which unfolds the question why the milkman has to come around an hour earlier. He could ignore DST on his private schedule altogether, IMHO. \*\* My point exactly! ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/35 "2002-04-08T21:07:05Z")
Shit. I can’t believe this. This thread’s been here how long? And no one has posted a link to one of my very favorite Straight Dope columns? What’s wrong with you people? [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_052.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_052.html) ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298/36 "2002-04-08T21:37:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\* Here in Indiana, we don’t switch either. “Welcome to Indiana! Please set your watch back 64 years.” \*\* Really? I changed my clock. IIRC, 5 counties in Northern Indiana and five counties in Southern Indiana observe Daylight Saving/s Time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time/102298.md?page=1)