Daylight saving creates chaos among the populace. [2 min]
Comedian Michael McIntyre jokes about daylight saving time. [1 min]
A short segment from the John Oliver show mocks daylight saving time. [3 min]
The standard opening to Perry Mason is finally explained as a daylight saving error. [1 min]
Harvard School of Public Health experts discuss the health risks of daylight saving. [2 min]
Links About Daylight Saving
“If you ask someone why we have daylight saving time, the most likely answer you’ll hear is that we change the clocks to help farmers. But daylight saving time has nothing to do with agriculture, except that farmers have historically opposed it, preferring morning sunlight to darkness when, say, milking the cows. The annual time changes are about energy conservation…But does this actually save energy? Recent studies suggest it has the opposite effect.”
–The New York Times: DST Wastes Energy
“Despite mounting evidence that Daylight Saving Time (DST) fails in its primary goal of saving energy, some form of DST is still practiced by over 1.5 billion people in over 60 countries. I demonstrate that DST imposes high social costs on Americans, specifically, an increase in fatal automobile crashes.”
–University of Colorado: Working Paper No. 14-05. Spring Forward at Your Own Risk: DST and Fatal Vehicle Crashes
“It was New York City (not the nation’s farmers, as many incorrectly believe) that rallied for [daylight-savings] reinstatement. Pressured by bankers and brokers who wanted to capitalize on the hour of arbitrage daylight-savings allowed with the London markets, the New York City Board of Aldermen lobbied it into law in 1920. The practice spread mostly haphazardly through the country, despite occasional efforts to enforce uniformity. While the history is awash in tedious legislative minutiae, Downing brings it to life by dramatizing politicians and various industries pitted against one another in absurd, often hilarious debates.”
–Publishers Weekly: [Review] SPRING FORWARD: The Annual Madness of DST
–-Book: Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of DST
“Arizona participated for one summer. Then we realized what an awful idea it was to have more sunlight in the evening. Longer sunlight means more air conditioning and more energy used. And more misery. In a nearly unanimous vote, Arizona legislators agreed to opt out of daylight-saving time in 1967.”
–AZCentral: Why doesn’t Arizona observe DST?
“If you feel groggy, grumpy and tired, and (rightly) blame daylight saving time for your woes, take solace in this: You’re not alone, and politicians are taking note. Elected officials in a dozen states are currently considering legislation to opt out of changing the clocks, either by remaining permanently on daylight saving time or standard time.”
–Washington Post: A bunch of states want to get rid of DST
“Most recently, a 2014 study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, seemed to corroborate what a number of other studies have already found: Daylight Saving Time, or DST, might do precious little to save energy, and may even increase energy consumption on the whole. Meanwhile, other studies have suggested links between DST and a variety of disturbing social outcomes, including increases in heart attacks and upticks in criminal behavior.”
–Forbes: Negligible Energy Savings, Possibly Deadly?
“Here are the five strangest ways that daylight saving time, and the ending of it, affect human health: 1) More car accidents 2) Increased workplace injuries 3) More heart attacks 4) Longer cyberloafing 5) Increased cluster headaches.”
–Live Science: 5 Weird Effects of DST