GARYC24 3 #1 October 21, 2003 Daylight Saving Time started for the sole purpose of making better use of daylight and saving energy. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Daylight Saving Time prompts people to use less electricity for lighting and small appliances, since people tend to spend their evenings outside during summer, enjoying the extra hour of daylight. Benjamin Franklin, during his service as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, first came up with the idea of Daylight Saving Time. The idea went no further than an essay titled "An Economical Project," but earned him much respect from his friends, the inventors of the oil lamp. A London builder named William Willet toyed with the idea of Daylight Saving in 1907. He thought an excellent idea would be advancing the clock 20 minutes every Sunday in April, and then setting the clock back each Sunday in September. Willet even went so far as to get support for the idea, even reaching Parliament with various time saving bills. Sadly, the bill was met with opposition and ridicule each time. The practice of Daylight Saving Time began in World War I, when conservation of fuel was incredibly important. People tried to match their schedules to sunlight hours. In the United States, Daylight Saving Time always begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October. This was determined by an act of Congress. Therefore, during the winter, the United States is on standard time. In summer, we are on daylight saving time. Some states, such as Arizona, completely ignore daylight saving time, and stay on standard time the entire year. The four darkest months of the year, November, December, January, and February, are not as affected by Daylight Saving Time as the rest of the year. These months tend to have later sunrises. Farmers have traditionally disliked Daylight Saving Time. Farmers who schedule their days by sunrise note that animals take a long time to adjust to the new schedule, leading to weeks of adjustment twice a year. Orthodox Sephardic Jews in Israel also complain that Daylight Saving Time interferes with their early morning prayers during the Jewish month of Elul. It's Time You Knew.... You can kill time. You can squander it. It can fly by. It can drag. But did you know.... There are 86,400 seconds in a day. A picosecond is the shortest, most accurate measurement of time. It is one-trillionth of a second. 2 to 4 nanoseconds (each representing one-billionth of a second) is the amount of time it takes for a computer to execute one software instruction. A decisecond, one-tenth of a second, is the duration of the blink of an eye. 40 days is about the longest a person can survive without food. 2 minutes is the average time for which a person can hold his or her breath. It takes 365.24 days for the earth to orbit around the sun. a.m. stands for ante meridiem (before midday) and p.m. is post meridiem (after midday). B.C. stands for before Christ. A.D. stands for anno domini, or, "in the year of our Lord." There is no "zero" year. The year Christ was born is believed to be 1 A.D., and the year before that was 1 B.C. The earth rotates 15 degrees every hour. This explains our 24 time zones. All time zones are measured from the starting point set in England, the Greenwich Meridian. "GMT" refers to Greenwich Mean Time, or Universal Time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #2 October 21, 2003 QuoteFarmers have traditionally disliked Daylight Saving Time. Farmers who schedule their days by sunrise note that animals take a long time to adjust to the new schedule, leading to weeks of adjustment twice a year. This makes no sense whatsoever. Do the cows have alarm clocks? Can the farmer not just get up at sunrise regardless of what his clock says? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #3 October 21, 2003 QuoteA decisecond, one-tenth of a second, is the duration of the blink of an eye. And I'll bet that most people blinked more than once while reding this...to test out the duaration of a tenth of a second.I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #4 October 21, 2003 Thanks for the reminder. I knew the time change was coming up. MarMay your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Katzeye 0 #5 October 21, 2003 Now if only we can get Congress to end it. It's a silly waste of effort to keep changing back and forth!!! Is a chicken omelette redundant? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #6 October 21, 2003 QuoteNow if only we can get Congress to end it. It's a silly waste of effort to keep changing back and forth!!! Screw that...I'd rather make it 2 hours. We could jump until 10pm in the summer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bvsdjumper 0 #7 October 21, 2003 QuoteA picosecond is the shortest, most accurate measurement of time. It is one-trillionth of a second. What about half a picosecond? Quote2 to 4 nanoseconds (each representing one-billionth of a second) is the amount of time it takes for a computer to execute one software instruction. Then how come it sometimes so F^@$!#* long for Windows to show the right-click menu. Quote2 minutes is the average time for which a person can hold his or her breath. Ahem, there are some women that can hold it even longer. QuoteB.C. stands for before Christ. A.D. stands for anno domini, or, "in the year of our Lord." There is no "zero" year. The year Christ was born is believed to be 1 A.D., and the year before that was 1 B.C. It's a shame that so many people celebrated the turn of the millennium Dec 31 1999 - Jan 01 2000. But then weren't there a number of changes in the calendar? Maybe nobody knows what year it really is like in the Matrix. ArtSky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bvsdjumper 0 #8 October 21, 2003 QuoteScrew that...I'd rather make it 2 hours. We could jump until 10pm in the summer No shit. I second that. ArtSky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Samurai136 0 #9 October 22, 2003 Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Screw that...I'd rather make it 2 hours. We could jump until 10pm in the summer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No shit. I second that. Art Or just convince everyone to drink less, get up at sunrise and start jumping... Ken"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian Ken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kris 0 #10 October 22, 2003 QuoteA picosecond is the shortest, most accurate measurement of time. It is one-trillionth of a second. Not quite... http://www.imakenews.com/symmttd/e_article000096182.cfmSky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tinfoil 0 #11 October 22, 2003 QuoteThe year Christ was born is believed to be 1 A.D., and the year before that was 1 B.C That should be the year Christ was believed to born by the monk that was given the task of finding the year Christ was born, in the 10th century I think, maybe the 8th. Today, a closer guess is 7 B.C. Nice post through, sorry to nit pick “- - Sumo is the greatest of sports. It has power, grace, speed and cluture. And most importantly, two fat bastards smacking the shit out of each other. ” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aero04 0 #12 October 22, 2003 Wow, cool info. I still think this whole daylight savings bullshit sucks ass. Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
