The "Gettin' An Extra Hour Of Sleep!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading to bed after a busy day of grocery shopping and raking the myriad of leaves that have accumulated in the past month.  One last job on my list before I climbed into bed was to turn back the couple of clocks in our house to conform with the start of Daylight Savings Time.  Many of the clocks in the house, such as on the TV and the cellphones, adjust automatically, but the alarm clock next to my side of the bed, the bathroom clock and the clocks on the microwave and oven have to be adjusted by a human.  Daylight savings time (DST) is a somewhat recent event if you consider about 100 years recent.  In the early 1900s Englishman William Willet proposed that Britain move its clock forward so they could enjoy more of the season's sunlight, but it didn't happen.  In 1908 a few communities in Canada implemented DST, but it wasn't until April 30, 1916, during World War I that the German Empire and its ally, Austia began using DST to save electricity.  A few weeks later the British followed.  There are a few places in the United States, as well as other countries, that still do not conform to daylight savings time.  So, for those that don't use DST, what exactly is it.  

Daylight Savings Time is a bi-annual event that gives, or takes away, an extra hour of daylight.  Many call it "springing forward" or "falling back".  Well, Germany began DST during WWI, but reverted back to standard time after the war.  Then World War II began and most of Europe reverted once again back to DST.  After the war ended the U.S. allowed states to decide on their own to continue using DST or to abandon it.  But, in 1966 in the U.S., DST was put into law with the enactment of the Uniform Time Act which also defined the current time zones.  As of today, the State of Hawaii as well as most of Arizona does not practice DST due to their extremely hot temperatures during the summer.  One location in Arizona that does observe DST is the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona.  DST officially began this past Sunday at 2:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time.  That time was chosen since it was said to be the least disruptive option since most people would be asleep.  As for the rest of the World, many begin DST on a different day and time and most countries near the equator do not use DST; Chile and sections of Brazil being the exceptions.  As of today there are a few states that have asked to eliminate DST with Florida being the closest state to eliminating DST.  But, it seems it will be up to Congress to approve a complete switch over to Standard Time, and you know how long that may take if Congress has to make the decision.  Well, have to get my chores done by 5:00 PM since it will be dark by that time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.