An Old Timey Podcast - 51: America Can’t Figure Out Daylight Saving Time (Part 2)

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

In his final episode on Daylight Saving Time, Norm tells us that America has flip flopped on Daylight Saving Time for decades. We love it! We hate it! We implement it; we rescind it. Will the battle ever end? Probably not! Will Norm survive the disease known as the flu? We sure hope so!Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Austermuhle, Martin. “A History Of D.C.’s Bizarre Daylight Saving Mishaps.” DCist (blog), n.d. https://dcist.com/story/19/03/11/a-history-of-d-c-s-bizarre-daylight-saving-mishaps/.Duster, Chandelis. “Trump Urges Congress to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent.” NPR, April 12, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/nx-s1-5363208/trump-daylight-saving-time.Preprau, David. Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. Basic Books, 2006.“Vietnam Lotteries : Selective Service System,” n.d. https://www.sss.gov/history-and-records/vietnam-lotteries/.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Normie C. And I'm Kristen Caruso. And on this episode, the thrilling conclusion of my series on Daylight Saving Time. I am thrilled. I don't think you are. I, well, okay, are we going to tell the people what's happening here? What's happening? Norm, it's pandemonium. You are an injured Civil War hero right now, which is, Just for the listeners, that's how Norm behaves when he's got a cold.

And boy, has Norm had a cold. Okay. Hold on a goddamn minute. Oh, my God. Language. Please. First of all, I had the flu. Yeah. Let's get something clear.

A cold and a flu are very different. Okay. Yes. We got back for my sister's wedding. Had a lovely time. Yep. Great time. My sister is now married.

Congratulations. And, uh, Got home, got the flu. I was bedridden for three days. Thought I was on the way out. At one point, you referred to it as a disease, and I'm only 80% sure you were kidding? It is an infectious disease. Look it up.

Oh, God. It is. Anyway, folks, so Norm has been sick. It's thrown off the recording schedule. It has. Here we are. We're doing it. We're pulling it together.

Now, according to the laws of sickness, I believe this means that I should be sick next, which, of course, means that by the time I have to record my episode, I will also be sick. So we are screwed-didly-oed, folks, is what I'm telling you. It's too bad we live together. It really threw everything off. It is a shame. It's a shame that we are married. It's a shame that we let.

I figured we live in separate houses or something. That way we could quarantine. Would you agree to live in a shittier house so that I could live in a nicer one? Yeah. Oh, that's so... Oh, that's so... Oh, that's so... Oh.

That's very sweet. Oh. I got to be honest, I don't know that I'd do that for you. Wow. I'd be like, well, I need space for my blow dryers, for all the makeup that I won't throw away, even though I'm sure it's expired by now. You know, a lady's got her needs. Yeah.

I'm going to need to talk to my therapist about that. I'd give up something for you, but you wouldn't do it for me. I would, I would,ish. Let's just not test it. Oh, I should do a plug for the Patreon. Yeah, do it. Okay, folks, here's the deal. We haven't recorded this month's Patreon bonus episode yet,

but by the time you listen to this, it'll be, no, it won't be out. That's ridiculous. It'll be out by the end of April. We're walking a tightrope here, folks. We sure are. Will I be delivering that episode from my bed. chamber like, dearest patrons, today I have this story to tell you. Maybe. Find out. All you have to do is sign up at our Patreon at the $5 level or higher. At that level, you get not only a monthly bonus episode. You get the video version so you can see me in my bedchamber. And by that I mean bedchamber. Yeah, yeah. But you're going to be wearing a night stocking? A night stocking. Yeah, like the night, the hat, night cap. Oh, of course, of course. Yes. And just a

a long, long nightgown. And even though we have electricity, and obviously there will be a microphone and all kinds of equipment, we won't be using the overhead lighting or any lamps. It'll just be a single candle flickering as I tell the tale. Wow. Yes. Also, at that level, you get into the Discord to chitty chat the day away.

You'll love it in there, I guarantee it. And then at the $10 level, if you're feeling rich, hello, welcome, then. boy oh boy you want to know what you get you get all that stuff i just mentioned plus a signed card with stickers oh my god the value and you get early ad-free video episodes of this very podcast right here oh and what's that you're a fan of my old rotten decrepit podcast let's go to court guess what baby we got all those episodes ad-free plus all the bonus episodes on patreon Shut up! It's true!

Patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. What an ad. Wow, you sold me. She's a pro. She sold me and I run the damn thing. I'll buy a membership. Before I get into this episode, I should probably do a mistakes of shame. Yeah, you should.

Mistakes of shame. Okay, so on part one of this series, I kept calling it daylight savings time. That is a common way to say it, but it's technically not correct. You seem a little defensive. I am a little defensive because I've been saying it that way my whole life, okay? For 37 damn years, I've been saying it that way. But yeah, according to the Associated Press, there's no S, so it's just daylight avings time.

Someone actually made that joke on Instagram. Oh, cool. So you stole it. Really? Well, no, I'm giving them credit now. Now, do I remember their name? No. So I guess it's not great.

Mm-hmm. Anyhow, you're ashamed, as you should be. I am deeply ashamed. I will not be referring it to, I will, I will speak properly and say, I will not be referring to it as daylight savings time in this episode. Is daylight saving time. This has been another exciting segment of mistakes. Mistakes. Of shame!

You think we should have like a three strikes in your out rule for mistakes of shame? Then you get kicked off the podcast? We could either you get kicked off the podcast, you're executed. Oh. Or maybe we just do like if you have three mistakes in one episode, you just have to stop the episode, like stop the series midway through. And you have to try again. You have to start over. Yes, okay.

You just get a new topic. That's fair. That's fine. Okay. Let's do that. rule. I'm actually not going to abide by it, but I like the idea of new rules. History hose will keep us accountable. Okay. Three mistakes. That's it. You're done. New topic. Okay, Kristen. So, you said you're excited for part two of my series on the greatest topic this podcast has ever

covered. I disagree that this is the greatest. It feels weird to hear you say that. Why? Without the S, I mean, it just, it does feel weird. Because I've been saying it the other way for 37 years like I mentioned. Well, okay. Anyway, I've been whispered it into your ear after we made love. Ew, stop. Oh, my God. You'll never forget how often I said daylight savings time.

But I can't say it that way anymore because I've been shamed. Well, boy, it's easy to shame you, isn't it? It really is. No, I do like a topic where I start off feeling one way. Then I do the old switcheroo, and I'm just wondering where I'm going to land. I am too. I am too. Well, then get going, big boy.

Oh. Those meds can't hold up for too long. I know. Oh, there he goes. Oh, the disease got him. Yeah. It is a disease. The flu is not a disease.

It's an infectious disease. Hold on. Look it up. Flu, also called influenza, is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs, which are part of the respiratory. Flu is a virus. The flu is caused by a virus. I just Googled, is flu an infectious disease? And Google says, yes, the flu is an infectious disease.

What? Yes. No. Oh, here's the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Flu is a contagious disease caused by an influenza virus. Interesting. Oh, here's the Cleveland Clinic. The flu is one of the most common infectious diseases.

All right. Well, we're going to have to start up mistakes of shame within this episode for me. Well, that's two in one episode. One more. We just have to cancel the episode. You know, that'd probably be for the best. Maybe I can go back to bed. I apologize, everyone. The flu is a disease, apparently. Anyway, let's get into it. You ready? Yes.

We learned about an English home builder named William Willett, who really loved the sunlight. You might say he was a little bit of a sunslut. And while going on his daily horseback ride during a summer morning in 1905, he couldn't help but wonder. Is it still possible to believe in love at first sight? Oh, that was actually Carrie Bradshaw. What? I said he couldn't help but wonder.

No, no, I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. I am paying attention. I smiled. Is that the third mistake's a shame? That's not a mistake.

Oh, give me a break. Anyway, William Willett wondered. It's such a beautiful morning. Why is no one else awake enjoying the sun with me? Mind your business, William. Why are people in, with their shutters closed and blinds down. We have to do something about this.

And that's when William Willett came up with an incredible idea. The United Kingdom should make everyone set their clocks forward one hour during the summer. That way people could enjoy the sun in the morning and have more time with it in the evening. William Willett spent two years refining his idea and self-published a pamphlet entitled The Waste of Daylight. And it was a hit. Soon enough, British Parliament introduced a daylight saving bill. To enact William Willett's wacky, wadical, whimsical, wondrous plan.

The government loved it because it could potentially conserve energy. Businesses loved it because it could increase worker morale. The medical field loved it because it could improve public health. Railroad companies loved it because it might encourage more travel. But there were some who opposed it, a collective group we know of, as sun cynics. Scientists were like, how can the government dictate what time it is? What's next? Changing the temperature to feel warmer in the winter? Farmers said daylight saving time would mess with their schedules.

They always worked around the sun. Then there's a large group of people who are like, why don't people just wake up earlier if they want to see the sun? Right? I mean, mind your business. The debate over the idea raged in Parliament, and ultimately they failed to pass the daylight saving bill. For the next eight years, William Willett kept trying, But opposition kept daylight saving time in the dark.

See what I did there, Christian? I do, I do. It was tough to get, but I got it. Good. Sadly, in 1915, William Willett passed away, and with his death, many people assumed his daylight saving idea would fade into obscurity. But then, one of the 20th century's most important events changed everything. One that a certain co-host of this podcast has described as boring.

World War I. Oh, shut up. And once you know it, the United Kingdom swore an enemy, Germany stole their daylight saving idea. They became the very first country to enact daylight saving time. The Brits were livid. They were angrier than a greased pig. How dare the Germans use a British idea?

Soon after, the United Kingdom passed their own daylight saving bill, and many of their allies followed. Well, except for one country, a country that was an ocean-o-wereign. way and kind of wanted nothing to do with World War I. Yeah, because it was so boring. It was the United States. And that is where we will pick up our story today. I am happier than a greased pig to be hearing about this.

I'm just sitting here, lighting my candles, feeling feelings. You know what's great about that? You could say, I'm XYZ than a greased pig. It applies to just about every emotion. You're right. I'm sadder than a greased pig. When something makes no sense, you can up. Apply it to anything.

Well, here's what I think. I think when you grease up a pig, you just never know what's going to happen. He could be angry, he could be happy, he could be sad, mad. You know, you could use it in any situation. Okay, anyway, go ahead. Kristen, take a guess. What do you think the good citizens of the United States thought of William Willett's daylight saving idea? I think they thought it sucked.

Oh, very good, Kristen. Thank you. Okay. So back in 1909, William Millett had actually written letters to every member of Congress about daylight saving time and how cool it was. Because he was trying to convince basically any country that did business with the United Kingdom that they should do daylight saving time as well. Well, these letters went public and people started roasting the hell out of William Willett. The New York Times wrote, quote, Wellette's idea is little less than an act of madness, and that if people want to see more sunlight, just wake up and do it.

I mean, that is fair. I know that's how you feel. Well, but I also... Anyway, keep going. A railroad executive commented that the idea of daylight saving time being a benefit to society was, quote, like that of a man cheating himself at Solitaire in thinking he has won the game. Hmm. Deep thought right there.

That's not to say everyone hated the idea. American sun sluts were few, but very passionate. But it was really just kind of a fringe movement. Okay? But then World War I happened. Kristen, could you wake up, please? Shut up. I was actually silently critiquing you in my head

because I was thinking you should have said some sunslots instead of were very passionate. Should have been very slutty. So, yeah, World War I's on. Germany enacts Somerzite, aka Sumer time. Then the British enact Daylight Saving Time. Other countries do it, Norway, Italy, France. All of a sudden, this fringe idea was being used by pretty major world powers.

Hmm, maybe there's something special about being a sun slut after all. And sure enough, the idea started gaining traction. New organizations popped up like the National Daylight Saving Association. They believe daylight saving time would improve productivity and working conditions. And that led to labor organizations supporting the idea. More sunlight after my 12-hour shift in the coal mines? Sign me up! I mean, that is, yeah, that's sad.

And, yeah, we should have that. Yeah, I agree. You're really, you're like a pendulum right now. You're just going back and forth. I think it's when we're talking about the workers and people not really have. having any control over their schedule. Yeah, of course people want sunlight. Yeah, I enjoy it.

And you make me work in this damn house all damn day. That's right. The United States Chamber of Commerce, an organization that represented 500,000 businessmen across the country, supported daylight saving time. What about the business women had God not invented them? They were not allowed in the Chamber of Commerce. Well, that's probably for the best, probably what had gotten their periods,

just bled all over the place. Women couldn't even vote by this point yet. No. Damn. Hate to see it. A lot of fun historical facts been thrown at me. We should just include every terrible fact at the same time we're explaining these topics. Wonderful.

How great for our fun little podcast. The Spanish flu was running rampant at this time. Killing many. It started in Kansas, by the way. Did you know that? It's a disease. Did you know that? Do you know that, Kristen?

That's the real question. I'm referring to the state of Kansas. But the ultimate endorsement came from the president of the United States. Woodrow Wilson. He thought daylight saving time would be great for the economy, and he promised to sign any legislation that was plopped on his desk. Of course, that would take an act of Congress. But, hey, wouldn't take long for something to be written up,

because on April 6th, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, because Germany kept using their damn submarines to attack merchant vessels. So finally, the United States was now involved in what Kristen has described as the most boring event of the 20th century. I have, I did not say. Hey, were the Germans just kind of asking for us to get involved with the little sub-attacks? They did a few things. One, they wouldn't stop attacking our merchant vessels.

But why us? Why leave us alone? Huh? We were sending supplies to the allies. Oh, okay. So we weren't officially involved, but we were kind of. Kind of. Okay.

And then two, have you heard of the Zimmerman scandal? That does sound familiar. The Zimmerman affair or something like that. So Germany had this secret plan to make Mexico an ally and then invade the U.S. through Mexico. Oh. And, like, they found out about it. Like British intelligence found. out about it and notified the United States.

Rude, rude, rude, and I hate that I'm kind of intrigued and would like to know more. Future topic? Don't you dare? Because then you'll start covering all of World War I and the next 10 years of this podcast will just be, well, I wouldn't have to do anything. Okay, go ahead. No work for you. Yeah, I just sit back.

So, less than two weeks after declaring war on Germany, a bill backed by the National Daylight Savings. entered Congress. It was called the Standard Time Act. So the Standard Time Act did two things. The first thing it did was it made those four time zones, eastern central, mountain Pacific, the official times of the United States. But the second thing it did is it established daylight saving time nationally. But oh, it wasn't going to pass so easily, Kristen. Debate raged in Congress over the idea. Honestly, it was really similar to how it played out in the United Kingdom. So let's start with one side. The sun sluts. Let's go sunsluts. First, think of all the wartime benefits. Daylight saving time promise fuel conservation, health improvements, and increased food production.

In fact, it was estimated that daylight saving time would add 910 million hours of home gardening, which could grow enough vegetables to feed one million soldiers in six months. Okay, that's an interesting point about home gardening, but that's kind of assuming that people are going to go home and garden. Many people did during the war. They saw it as a patriotic duty. Okay. Are you hungry, soldier? Why didn't you take a big old bite of that zucchini?

I knew you were going to say zucchini. Okay, what else was I going to ask you? You're talking about health benefits. Is that just made up by these sunslets? Well, the medical field was a little behind. then. Uh-huh. But I think there are health benefits to natural sunlight, don't you?

Well, sure. Yeah. That's what they say about health improvements, you know. Cover your body in leeches, then go stand out in the sun. You'll feel better, I guarantee it. The leeches will love it, too. Nice little tan going. The second benefit.

This is great for business. One man who testified before Congress was Sydney Colgate. Yes, Kristen, that Sydney Colgate. My goodness. of the Colgate Toothpace Company. Oh, my God. Norman. Norman, please try to be classy.

And, okay, everyone, because we're thrown off our editing schedule, Joe is not editing this episode. Normie C. is editing the episode. If that burp makes it into the final cut, you'll know Normie C is keeping it real. Oh, man, now you're forcing me to keep it. So, yeah, they talked to Sidney Colgate. And he was like, daylight saving time is awesome for business. In fact, at my company, we've kind of been doing our own little daylight saving time. We've adjusted our business hours for more sun in the evening.

And it's paying off, baby. In fact, one of our employees told me that he didn't even need vacation days anymore. Okay. He says that every day during the summer felt like a short vacation. Okay. Just because someone is kissing you directly on the butthole doesn't mean it's the true story, Mr. Colgate. Is, okay, is the Crest guy a Sun Senate? Because that would be really fun.

Crest didn't come around to like the 50s. Oh, that's a shame. Colgate kind of had a monopoly going right now. Okay. Kristen, can you imagine employees that don't want vacation days? Sounds like a capitalist wet dream. It does. I'm about to bust.

And the final benefit. Daylight saving time will be great for the morale of this nation. Think of all the outdoor activities in the evenings. Baseball, tennis, golf, botchy ball, and more. Batchie ball Yeah Did you like Batchie ball? I don't think I've ever played Batchie Ball

I only found out about it when I moved to the south Yeah That in Cornhole Which cornhole is different Than I thought it was going to be No I'm for real I was like we're writing about this

In the newspaper Okay Sorry You got any more Zinger for me Kristen No I'm good All right let's hear from the other side

The Sun Cynics Yeah Almost sounds like a basketball team. Yeah, I agree. The Phoenix Sun Synics. Actually, that's pretty good because they don't observe daylight saving time in Phoenix. It could be the Phoenix Sun Synics. Are you going to talk about Phoenix?

I will. Okay, good. Okay. So the biggest Sun Synics were the farmers by far. I explained in part one why farmers hated daylight saving time. But just to refresh, farmers worked around the sun, not the clock. and when people wanted to fuck around with the clock, it could severely mess with how farmers did business with the community.

Railroad schedules, market times, hiring people, sending their kids to school, banking, everything. It just fucked their whole day up, okay? A congressman from Arkansas proclaimed, a majority of the men who advocate this character of legislation have not seen the sunrise for 20 years. This bill is for the relief of the slackers of the nation who are too lazy to get up early. Okay, well, maybe they're not. don't need to get up early because they're not farmers. Now, see, now whose side am I on?

You're back. I'm also like, if you claim that I don't know why I'm pointing at you so aggressively, you're not one of these farmers. They're all dead now. Farmers still exist. No, these particular farmers, these particular farmers are arguing, I don't go by the clock. I go by the sun. Okay, you can continue to do that.

How does daylight saving time mess that up? It doesn't. Continue to do whatever you want, according to the sun. Did you and I hear what I just said about how daylight saving time fucks up the farmer's schedule? You told me it fucks it up, but I don't see how. Just continue going by the sun, dudes. The problem is it affects the community schedule. So like farmers have to make money by selling their product to the market.

Yes. Well, when the market's time changes, they require like product to be at the market. at a certain time. Right. Well, farmers are like, well, that doesn't work for me because, like, I have to do things, like, only when the sun is up. Okay. Do you see what I mean?

I, like, I milk the cows at this time, but because the market schedule changes, you have to milk the cows even earlier. Mm-hmm. And, like, maybe the cows don't want to be milked at that time. Okay. You know what I mean? Yeah, I get it now. Okay.

The thing is the standard time really matched up well with the sun. Okay. It was pretty close. Okay. But when you do daylight saving time, the gap is much bigger. And so it kind of throws everything off for the farmer. Okay. You know what?

My life is so far apart from their lives that I really couldn't put myself in the shoes. Couldn't put my hands on the udders. But now that you're saying this stuff, I'm getting it. All right. Society is like we're following this clock. And the farmers are like, I can't follow that clock. I have this clock. It's called the sun.

That's why they hated it. Okay. You got it? I got it. I got it. Thank you. Okay. So yeah, farmers hated it.

The second major opposition group was railroad companies. Hmm. So that's a lot different than the UK because in the UK the railroad companies were like, hell yeah, daylight saving time, bring it on. Let's do it. But in the United States, the American Railway Association testified that changing the clocks would only cause problems. They said, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Imagine if some guy makes a mistake changing the clock, train wrecks. all over the place. Hmm. Fair point. The U.S. has four time zones. Changing the clocks as well for daylight saving time could introduce some problems. You know, the U.K. doesn't have, I think the U.K. is on entirely one time zone, so. Yeah.

Well, Congress was pretty hellbent on passing daylight saving time. So they asked the railroad executives, okay, so let's say we do pass legislation for daylight saving time. what's the best time for us to make the clock change? And the railroad executive said Sundays at 2 a.m. Because that's when the least amount of trains run. Huh. And so the bill was modified to make the clock changes during that day and time. Sundays at 2 a.m.

And we still follow that rule today. Wow. All because of those damn trains. Well, but I do think there's a point. You know, you're asking people to all manually change a bunch of clothes. There's a lot of room for human error there. Absolutely. I think they're just concerned for safety.

And there's also way more railroads in the United States and the United Kingdom. Yeah. Room for error. I've always heard they're really jealous of us because of all of our railroads. Oh, we have the best railroad system in the world. And they get so, so upset about it. Did you know our trains can reach a max speed of 35 miles per hour? Shut up.

Yeah. I heard your brain falls out. if you go that fast. Also, the tickets are more expensive than airline tickets. Also, the UK is very jealous of all of our time zones. Mm-hmm. Because we're so big and wide, we just got to have them. And they're just a little skinny-weeney over there.

Anyhow. Actually, and actually, they hate the metric system. They really prefer our imperial system. It's way better. Yeah, it's not super stupid that we go by this one thing that no one else goes by. It's not dumb at all. That's a future topic right there. Okay, yeah, why are we so ridiculous?

Anyhow. So overall, support for daylight saving time far outweighed the opposition, mostly because there is a war going on. So even farmers kind of backed off their opposition. What kind of unpatriotic asshole would oppose something that supports the war effort? The Standard Time Act passed and was signed into law on March 19, 1918. It would take effect later that month on Sunday, March 31st, just two weeks, after becoming law.

All across the United States, people prepared for the big day. To help remind everyone about the time change, the Chicago Tribune wrote a little poem. Oh. It's entitled, Tonight's the Night. Oh, goodness. You ready for this sick rhyme, Kristen?

Yeah, I am. All right. Let me get a beat. Oh, wow. Okay. Yo. Yo, hey, just before you go to bed, push the clock an hour ahead.

Wait, is that it? That was the poem. What do you think? Beautiful. No notes. I was expecting it to be longer. Yeah. Especially when the title is Tonight's the Night, but, you know, that's fine.

Sounds kind of sexy, tonight's the night. I, yeah. Who knew is about changing the clocks? Well, there we go. I'm glad you enjoyed that. God, M.C., me, Normy C. Okay, let me try another poem that they published. It's called These Busy Days

This sounds like it's going to suck It does suck, you ready? Yes Forward, turn forward, oh time in your flight So we can squeeze in nine holes before night Oh, that is so obnoxious I sure hope that's about golf and not some orgy Sexy times

Ew, thank you, Dad Do you think we can squeeze in nine holes tonight? I don't think so. Not the two of us. You okay over there? Norm just took a big sip of tea. I just like I said, I don't think so. Well, I was counting in my head.

I did the math. I don't think we can do it. Not pleasantly. Anyway, on Saturday night, March 30th, 1918, children stayed up way past their bedtimes to watch their fathers' mood. the clock forward. Celebrations were held across the country. And then on Sunday, March 31st,

1918 at 2 a.m. It happened. Time moved forward. People weren't really celebrating, were we? Yeah. Okay. I mentioned this in part one. I know. First time they'd ever done this.

This is cool. I guess. Yeah, everything went fine. The Los Angeles Times summed it up with a real banger of a headline. Time changed. big success. What do you think, Kristen?

Former journalist, good headline? Yeah. Yeah? Honestly, here's the thing. When people talk shit on headlines... Like me? Yeah, you often do. Let me just say,

headlines are really hard to write. You've got to be very concise. Sometimes you wind up sounding like a caveman. Sometimes you use words that you never wanted to use. Like instead of the word investigation, which is quite long, you use the word probe. Probe. It's a perfectly cromulent word. Thank you.

Norm, what's the definition of the word cromulent? Well, it's a made-up word from the Simpsons. Oh, okay, great. And I think they said the definition is, like, adequate. Great. Cromulent. So, yeah, it was a big success. Americans enjoyed their extra sunlight.

It really did help save energy for the war. And people really did see daylight saving time as a legit. legitimate way to help the war effort. Now, I'm sure you Canadian history hoes are asking, what about us, eh? Well, great news. During the same time, Canada also implemented daylight saving time. Later that year, on November 11th, 1918, Germany surrendered.

And World War I was finally over. Great job. Was it because of the daylight saving time thing? No. Were they like, now everyone has it? And now we're just kind of embarrassed by this whole war business. Yeah, that's why Germany surrendered. Yeah, you're right.

See, now you don't have to do that. It's not because their country was on the brink of collapse. Because of the daylight savings. We know, we know. Everyone was kind of eager to get back to their normal everyday lives. And maybe part of that was getting rid of things like daylight saving time. After all, it was only a war measure, right? So, what did countries do?

Germany abandoned daylight saving time. Oh, really? Yep. France kept it for about four years and then said, non-massy. Oh, and got rid of it. The Soviet Union loved daylight saving time and made it a permanent year-round change.

Greece tried it for two months and then said, eh, not for us. The United Kingdom loved daylight saving time and made it a permanent part of their life in the summertime. And then there was the United States. With the war over, most Americans believed daylight saving time would go away. They thought it was a wartime thing,

like meatless Mondays. But it did have a lot of support, mostly from businesses. They really liked it and were like, can we just keep this? Farmers who had unselfishly agreed to daylight saving time during the war were ready for it to go away. They said, okay, the war's over, can you get rid of this stupid clock change now? And their representatives in Congress agreed. One of them stated, if you want to cut off 25% of the productiveness of the American farmer, just keep this law on the books.

25% Sounds like he pulled it out of his ass Right out of that greasy pig Oh So they introduced over 20 bills To repeal daylight saving time And eventually one of them passed

In 1919 the House passed a bill 232 to 122 votes To repeal daylight saving time Supporters of the repeal were worried about its chances in the Senate So they added it to a Completely unrelated bill. This is something Congress does all the time.

We call it the sneaky sneaks. The sneaky sneak, yep. Sneaky meat. Sure. Yeah. It's super shady. I hate that they're allowed to do that. But yeah, it passed.

But guess what it didn't pass? What? President Woodrow Wilson. He caught him doing it. And he said, uh, uh, uh, and he vetoed that bill. President Woodrow Wilson stated, I believe that the repeal of the act would involve a serious economic loss. Hmm. So Congress passed another bill. And President Wilson vetoed that one too. President Woodrow Wilson was like, look, look, I know farmers really hate daylight saving time, but the benefits really outweigh the drawbacks. But Congress was like, well, that's too bad. And they overrode his veto. Can you believe that?

Wow. Yeah. I didn't know they could do that. Yeah, you can override a veto. Okay. You have to have a majority vote, though. Okay. And with that, daylight saving time was officially repealed in the United States. The New York Tribune commented, the farmer has defeated the city man. America was back on God's time, Kristen. No more messing with the clocks, right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

Because, you know, just because there was no national law about daylight saving time. Oh, Lord. Doesn't mean states or cities couldn't pass their own laws. No, this is chaos. Oh, just too wait. So immediately after the nationwide repeal, New York City Council unanimously approved daylight saving time in New York City. Isn't that wild? In a specific city, you have daylight saving time.

And then in 1920, Massachusetts became the very first state to observe daylight saving time. Rural residents of the state were livid. Because they were like, this only benefits golf players and by, Boston. Yeah, with their nine holes. They got nine holes to fill before dinner. But this Massachusetts law, it didn't just piss off people in the state. It also affected nearby states because after that law took effect, the Boston and Maine Railroad was like, all of our trains run on Massachusetts time.

And that means it runs on daylight saving time, too. So people in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, they had to keep track of another state's time just to catch a train. annoying. Yeah. Daylight saving time spread like pimples on a greased pig, Kristen. It was in Cincinnati, Columbus, Kalamazoo, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, Providence, Hartford. It really did seem to be a rural versus urban issue. Another city that wanted daylight saving time was the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

But new president, Warren G. Harding, hated daylight saving time. He called it, quote, deceptive. Oh. But the people of Washington, D.C. demanded it. So he came up with what he thought was a good compromise. He was like, hey, I'll just change the hours of operation for the U.S. government. What do you think?

Well, no, because that, this is what I hate about these, like, little, oh, we'll change it here, we'll change it there. That's so inconvenient. Because what if you have to do some work with the federal government? Yeah, I agree. Yeah, of course you agree. Now, I remember, this was something that the sun cynics had actually advocated for a while. They're just like, oh, just wake up early or change your business hours if you want to enjoy the sun more. So that's what Warren G. Harding is doing.

I'm going to change the business hours of the U.S. government. But remember, William Willett was like, that will never work. So let's see what happened. Okay. In May of 1922, President Warren G. Harding signed an executive order stating that in the summer, the government would now work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. President Harding believed that in turn,

local businesses would change their hours as well. Well, almost immediately, it was wildly unpopular. People hated having to wake up earlier to go to work. Yep. The Supreme Court straight up ignored his executive order. Oh, that is very rude, boys. So they always heard cases at noon, high noon. Mm-hmm.

And they said, yeah, we're going to keep doing that. We're not going to hear cases at 11 a.m. now. And only a few businesses change their hours. Many businesses were like, whatever. I'm not changing my hours. Right. It was pandemonium in the capital, Kristen. In fact, this controversy led to a historic moment.

The local radio station, WJH Radio, held the very first debate in radio history. And the topic? Daylight saving time. You're kidding me. Not kidding. Wow. Okay. Yeah.

President Warren G. Harding's executive order was so unpopular he ended it one month early. The D.C. Police Commissioner joked, now I don't have to eat breakfast with one hand and get dressed with the other. Thank you. I'm at the comedy club at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Hey, what do you know? William Willett was right after all. What do you think? What do I think about what? Was William Willett right? Well, that this was a bad idea? That it's a bad idea. You don't just change your hours. You have to change the system.

Yeah. Of course he was right. It's time. We all have to be on the same page. It's time. As daylight saving time popped up in cities and towns across the United States, it caused more and more confusion and headache. And many of these issues made their way into the courtroom.

Let's take a look at a few examples. A theater owner in Pittsburgh was super pissed about daylight saving time. He was like, it doesn't get dark until 9 p.m. now. That's way too late for folks to come out and see a show at my theater. I'm losing business, so he sued the city of Pittsburgh over it. A judge threw the case out. In Connecticut, daylight saving time had actually been banned under state law. But a rebellious little sunslut decided to challenge that law,

a jeweler in Hartford put a clock in front of his store that was set to daylight saving time. Oh, that's rude. People are going to be so confused. The man was arrested and fined $5. Okay, well, I think arresting him was a little harsh. And then they were talking about executing him, too. I'm just kidding. So he appealed saying, hey, my store is private property. I can set my clocks to whatever time I want. His case went all the way to the state.

Supreme Court And they ruled against them The court declared that the jeweler's clock was Quote causing inconvenience and confusion And ultimately he had to pay that $5 fine Damn, adjusted for inflation You didn't do it, did you? No

Wow, I guess we'll just have to sit and wonder 100 bucks Oh, okay In Manhattan A woman was given a summons at 12.15 a.m. on a.m. on a Sunday, which was prohibited under the law at the time. You can't serve someone on a Sunday. So the woman filed a complaint with the court saying, hey, you can't serve people on a Sunday. Well, the server countered that, actually, I served you at 11.15 p.m. on Saturday night because I follow standard time, not daylight saving time. The case went all the way to the state Supreme Court. Oh, my God. And they ruled in the woman's favor because she was in Manhattan. And Manhattan followed daylight saving time, not standard time. Yeah.

Another case in Manhattan. Two convicted murderers on death row argued for a stay of execution. Why? Because when daylight saving time started, the clocks were set forward. So they claimed their lifespan had been shortened by one hour. Their claim was denied and both men were executed. Oh, wow, that's a fun end to that story. So Kristen, as you can see, when daylight saving time was piecemeal out across the country, it became quite a mess.

Yeah. There really needed to be a national law on the books for daylight saving time, either for it or against it. But with half the country in favor and half opposed, it seemed impossible for anything to get done. That is, until another war broke out. Are you serious? It's the wars that are saving this thing? That's right. This is so weird. On September 1st, 1939, German dictator.

and former guest on this show, Adolf Hitler, decided to invade Poland. The UK and France were like, hey man, you better cut that out. And Hitler was like, nine. World War II was officially on. Once again, energy conservation became a big time priority. Germany instituted Sumerzite again.

Hitler enjoyed the sun too. However, we sunslets do not claim him. I'm glad. The UK expanded their daylight saving time. First, they extended it from February. to November. And then they were like, you know what? Fuck it. Let's make it year-round for the rest of the war.

Well, yeah, you might as well. And then they started doing double summertime. They moved their clocks ahead two hours in the summer. It was like super daylight saving time with 16-bit graphics and blast processing. The UK actually had a good reason for doing this, though, because Germany was bombing the United Kingdom almost every night. double summertime gave workers more time to make tanks and planes and weapons and supplies and then get home before dark when the bombing started. Oh, God, that is grim.

Yeah. Well, over in the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he knew that war was coming, and so in July of 1941, he proposed establishing a nationwide daylight saving time again, and Congress debated it for months. But the debate basically ended on December 7, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. So the U.S. was now officially in the war. Daylight saving time was no longer up for debate.

The next month in January of 1942, it became a nationwide law again. And again, it helped with the war effort. It saved energy. Boosted morale. Increased production of planes, tanks, weapons. And with our allies, we kicked some Nazi ass. Yeah. Booyah!

World War II, ended on September 2nd, 1945, when Japan finally surrendered. And I shit you not, only three days after Japan surrendered, congressman introduced bills to repeal daylight saving time. Wow, they were ready. Yes. They were like, okay, the farmers were really, really, really patient about daylight saving time during the war. They had to get dressed in the dark. They had to milk their cows in the dark, send their kids to school in the dark. Can we please go back to being on God's time? Congress Agreed, passed a repeal bill, and President Harry S. Truman, a former farmer, happily signed it into law. Of course, that meant the return of clock chaos.

Oh, I do like that. You like clock chaos? Yeah, I love alliteration. It's cute. I also love chaos. You do like a little chaos? You know this about me. Yeah, you do like a little chaos. Mm-hmm.

But you don't like chaotic evil. You like chaotic good. And chaotic neutral. Yeah, we were watching an episode of the original Pokemon cartoon with our little nephew. Yeah, I was about to say, we were not alone. We had a child with us. Yeah. And we watched one of my favorite episodes about the Squirtle Squad.

Here comes the Squirtle Squad. Those little pranksters playing pranks on everybody. Yeah, they seem pretty cool, frankly. They wear sunglasses and they play pranks on people. They were chaotic neutral. Kristen really enjoyed it. In 1947, about 40% of the country observed daylight saving time. 50 million people.

President Harry Truman was maybe feeling some regret about signing that repeal law. He said that daylight saving time observed locally was, quote, a lot of hooey. We now get an hour's difference in cities that adjoin each other. If there is a daylight saving program, it should be a national program, not a local one. Wow. Harry Truman. He may have been wrong about the atom bombs, but he sure was right about daylight saving time. He got the important things right. Am I right? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

But, you know, a national bill just wasn't coming anytime soon. People were too divided. Some people got pretty philosophical about the whole debate. I'd like to read you an excerpt from author Robertson Davies. He's a famous Canadian son cynic. I think you might enjoy it. I feel like this screamed Kristen when I read it. Okay, is it better than the nine holes poem? Yeah.

Okay. I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind. I even object to the implication that I am wasting something valuable if I stay in bed after the sun has risen. As an admirer of moonlight, I resent the bossy insistence of those who want to reduce my time for enjoying it. At the back of the daylight saving scheme, I detect the bony blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier and get them up earlier to make them healthy, wealthy, and wise in spite of themselves. I love this man. He said exactly what I said in the last episode, except slightly classier and more concise.

A little smarter. Yeah, it does feel. that way. Yeah. It feels a little like, I know what's best. You're fucking everything up. I'm going to change time to force you to be good like me. That's how it feels. I mean, it is fucking wild that it's just like, yeah, I'm just going to change what time it is. I mean, when you step back and think about it, almost like greasing a pig. You really want to grease a pig? Maybe I do. Maybe that's my moonlight right there. That's your moonlight. Uh-huh. Greased pigs in the moonlight

Sliding down a greasy stripper pole Oh God Well they'd fall right off Squeak, squeak! Bank their bottoms. So yeah, people are just too divided For a national bill. It's out of the question.

But, you know, that means clock chaos is back, baby. It's sweeping the nation. In Iowa, there were 23 different variations of daylight saving time across the state. This is insane. That's right. You could choose your own start and stop time. So some cities were like, let's start it in April and ended it in September.

And then another one's like, I'm going to start it in May and then I'm going to end it in October. No, no, this is all stupid. You ready for the ultimate stupidity? Yes. In 1965, St. Paul, Minnesota instituted their own daylight saving time that would start on May 9th. But it's Twin City next door, Minneapolis. They observed daylight saving time on May 23rd. Two weeks later.

Why? Why, why, why? Why? Why can't we coordinate? Oh, they tried to. Minneapolis was like, can you please reconsider this? Yeah. And the mayor of St. Paul was like, no, my people want this. This is so dumb.

I know. So for two weeks in cities literally next to each other, the time was different. It was kind of crazy. 18 suburbs switched to daylight time. 19 suburbs stayed on standard time. Four stayed on standard time, but businesses went to daylight saving time. Two suburbs said, fuck it, choose whatever time you want. The fire department was on daylight saving time.

The police department was on standard time. The local papers showed TV listings with a disclaimer. Remember, 7 p.m. shows will actually be on at 8 p.m. This is ridiculous. I can't believe we did this. I know. Another effective daylight saving time, Kristen, broadcasting stations around the country with radio programs and TV programs had to deal with the time inconsistencies, and it led to huge investments in

tape to save live programs and rebroadcast them at the correct times, which forever changed the entertainment industry. Wait, were the people at TV Guide thrilled about this? I bet. We are more needed than ever before. That's right. We're selling millions, millions of copies. The daylight saving time problem was enough for a scientist at the U.S. Naval Observatory to declare

the United States was the worst timekeeper in the world. Fair. Obviously, there were people that hated daylight saving time. There were people that loved it. But I don't think anyone liked this mishmash of times. Well, no. Of course not. It should really be more of like an all-or-nothing kind of deal. That's what we've been saying, Norm.

Well, in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson decided to finally do something about it. He begged Congress, please pass some sort of time uniformity. legislation and they had some options. They're like, okay, do we do nationwide daylight saving time again? Do we do nationwide standard time? Do we allow local daylight saving time? But maybe we force them to have a specific start and stop time. But ultimately they decided that a standardized national daylight saving time was needed. And they wanted it to run from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. And once again, the debate exploded. The farmers were back with their pitchforks, Kristen.

A congressman from Iowa said, I am not going to vote to make myself part of a tragedy on the highways of Iowa, where schoolchildren coming across the highway to catch a school bus in the darkness of late fall or mowed down by a truck or a car. Let the blood be on your hands, not mine. Okay, drama queen, don't you have like 19 different time zones in Iowa thanks to all this chaos, this clock chaos? Are your children dying from daylight? saving time, more at 11. Or 10, we're not sure.

That's very good, Kristen. So they had to appease the sun cynics in some way. So Congress amended the bill, and they said, hey, any state can exempt themselves from daylight saving time if they pass a statewide law. What do you think of that? I mean, if people are going to be ridiculous, I guess that's the concession you have to make. Yeah. Like, okay, your whole state has to do it.

Yes. Well, that was enough to get the bill passed. It passed by a vote of 281 to 191 on April 13, 1966. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act of 1966. So now local communities could no longer set their own time, but states could. And they had two options. You either observe the national daylight saving time or you just use standard time year round. So after the bill passed, four states exempted themselves from daylight saving time. Do you want to take a guess? Well, obviously Arizona. Ding, ding, ding, nang, Arizona.

Arizonians, is that the term? Arizonaians? Sure. They hated daylight saving time. Why? Because it's so fucking hot in Arizona. Oh, yeah. They said, we don't want more sun.

We want it to be nighttime as soon as possible. Sure, sure. The last thing Arizona needs in the summer is an. extra hour of daylight. So, exempt. Okay. Can you guess another state? Texas. Nope. I'll give you a hint.

Okay. It's where my sister's on her honeymoon. Hawaii. Hawaii is located near the equator, so their day lengths are pretty much the same all year long. They don't need daylight saving time. Exempt. Okay.

Okay, there's two more. I don't think you're going to get these. Alaska. No, they're Midwest states. Oklahoma? Nope. Okay, this is ridiculous. Just tell me. I need you to name as many states as possible.

You know what? In the fourth grade, we memorized a song about the states, so I could go through them just fine. I would have to sing it, though. How about Michigan? Oh. Hmm, what the hell? Michigan. That's right.

For a long time, Michigan had actually been in the central time zone. but after some time zone boundary changes, the state was now mostly in the eastern time zone. And so they basically gained an hour from that time zone change. And so Michiganers were like, oh, we don't want to do this again with daylight saving time. We're fine. We're in the eastern time zone.

We don't want to do it. Right. So bam, exempt. Well, they were exempt for a little bit anyway. Five years later, Michigan decided, eh, maybe we do want daylight saving time. And so they've repealed their exemption. and the final state to exempt themselves from daylight saving time.

Indiana. You hate Indiana. I'm sorry for anyone living in Indiana. I just... Wait, don't say that. You just hate driving through Indiana. That's true. I've never really stopped in Indiana.

I drive through it to get to Michigan, and I just... It's a terrible experience driving through that state. And you hate everyone who lives there. Isn't that true? You weren't supposed to say that. I've told that to you many times. in private. Often while we're driving through Indiana.

That's, yes. I do like the Albany's gummy bears, though. Those are made in Indiana. All right. Is that not enough to redeem the state? No, no. Well, no, I'm not the one who has something against Indiana. You're the one who is an Indiana cynic.

I am myself and more of an Indiana slut. Yeah, right. If I took it to Indiana. What? I don't think you'd have a good time. It sounds like you're about to die from disease, and I'm about to vacation in Indiana. Well, I'm sure you're wondering why little old Indiana wanted to be exempt from daylight

saving time. A lot of farming? They were actually in kind of a weird situation. Because traffic is terrible. No. So just like Michigan, Indiana was in the central time zone for a long time, okay? But they redid those boundaries, and they moved that time zone, and it ran right through like the western edge of Indiana.

So now the majority of the state was in eastern time, but there were like two small areas in western Indiana that were in central time too. Yeah. So the majority of the state was like, eh, we're on eastern time now,

we gain an extra hour, we don't need daylight saving time. Kind of the same thing Michigan was feeling. But those two small areas in the western part of the state, they're like, well, wait a minute. Yeah. What about us?

But unfortunately, the Uniform Time Act of 1966, it required a state to choose. You either all do daylight saving time. Oh, that sucks. Or you don't? And Indiana voted, and they decided to exempt themselves from daylight saving time. And that led to these little weird areas of Indiana that people refer to as islands of time.

So let's say in Fort Wayne, Indiana, it's 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Yeah. 132 miles west in Gary, Indiana, it's 7 p.m. Central Standard Time. But 40 miles west of Gary in Chicago, Illinois, it's 8 p.m. Central daylight time. This is ridiculous. Because Illinois followed daylight saving time. So, oops, they're one hour ahead of Gary, Indiana, even though they're in the same time zone. So this is a very unique situation.

Congressmen from Indiana pushed for an amendment to the uniform time. act. They're like, hey, we got this weird situation going on. Do we do something about it? And they were like, how about we make it so any state with a time zone boundary running through it? Maybe we can be exempt from that all or nothing deal. So in 1972, President Nixon signed the amendment into law. And so that allowed those little small areas in Indiana to observe daylight saving time. And then the rest of Indiana didn't have to. This is so ridiculous. I can't believe how long this is dragging out. I know.

And we're only in the 70s. Good God. After all this drama, it seemed as though, okay, okay, maybe we have finally figured out daylight saving time. But then the Vietnam War broke out. Oh, my God. Would the United States change daylight saving time again? Probably. Nope.

Oh, okay. But I do want to tell you about a really interesting lawsuit dealing with the Vietnam War and daylight savings. Okay. Okay. I had to mention this. All right. Okay, so during the war, men were drafted into military service using a lottery system.

The government put 366 capsules into a wheel, representing every possible birth date in a year, and then they randomly drew them and assigned a number to each date, one through 366. It's the worst game of bingo you will ever play. Well, a young fellow from Wilmington, Delaware, named Chester. Mr. Brinton, he was assigned number 142, which is for everyone born on August 12th. And soon enough, number 142 was called, Chester Brinton had to go to Vietnam. But Chester Brinton didn't want to go to Vietnam, so he found a way out. He had been born on August 12, 1948, at 1203 a.m. in Wilmington, Delaware.

Wilmington observed daylight saving time. but the rest of Delaware did not observe daylight saving time. So Chester Brinton argued, recording a birth date was a state function. And so technically his birth date should have been August 11, 1948, at 11.03 p.m. That was the time in Dover, Delaware, the state capital. Wow. If you're wondering, why did Chester Britten want to change his birth date? Because in that draft lottery, August 11th had been assigned the number three.

142, which was way higher than his original number of 142. The draft board looked at his appeal and was like, yeah, nice try, buddy, you're going to Vietnam. So he appealed and he took his case to the U.S. District Court. And a judge ruled that Chester Britton was right. Yeah. The state's standard time took precedent over a local daylight time. No, he's got the legal argument.

Yeah, he's good. And so he won his case and he never had to go to VIA. Vietnam. Wow. Can you believe that? Good for him. And thank goodness for daylight saving time. Nah, that's not really what I'm saying. I thought that's what you were saying, Kristen. No. I had to tell you that story. I thought it was very interesting. But yeah, Vietnam did not change daylight saving time in America, but another event did. On October 6, 1973, the fourth Arab-Israeli war broke out, also known as the Yom Kippur War. I don't want to get lost in the weeds in that war, but Basically, the United States backed Israel in that war. That pissed off the Arab nations.

So they instituted a complete embargo on oil to the United States. Uh-oh, we really like that stuff. I know. We grease pigs with it. Yeah. We put it in our cars. And that's the end of the list. And that's really all we do with it, I guess.

Gas prices jumped 40%. Lines at gas stations were a common site. And oh, no, energy conservation. We've got to save the energy. President Nixon said it was the greatest energy shortage since World War II. Something had to be done. Six weeks later, Congress passed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973. Year-long daylight saving time for a period of two years.

My God. This was the first time year-long daylight saving time was put into effect in the United States. And boy, oh boy, people hated it. Daylight saving time in the winter was brutal. Depending on where you lived, you could wake up for work and it would be like the middle of the night. Yeah. Zookeepers said they had to wake up animals to feed them. Sorry, that's hilarious.

You have to tap the cheetah on the shoulder. Yeah, they just mauls them to tap. Excuse me, it's time to eat. Congressmen Congressmen The cheetahs are all sun cynics I need the Benny Hill theme Uh-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-uh

Uh, yeah And then the pastors were like Our church attendance is way down But the biggest issue with year-long Daylight saving time Was children's safety Parents were worried kids would walk to school in the dark And they'd be at risk for getting hit by a car

abducted or recruited for a pyramid scheme. All equally bad. That's right. So schools responded by being like, hey, put this reflective tape on your kids as they walk to the school bus. And child molesters rejoice. They said, fine, we can see the kids. Don't do the rim shot for that. That's a terrible joke.

That rib shot is to save you, okay? Parents also made the kids bring flashlights or lanterns to the bus stops. And then sadly, reports started coming in. 16-year-old boy in Chicago was run over on his way to school and died. Similar accidents happened in Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, California. In Florida alone, eight children were hit by cars on their way to school and died compared to only two the previous year. That's awful. And cities started questioning the energy save.

too. Chicago said during the first year of year-long daylight saving time, the city saved less than 0.1% of energy. That's what I'm kind of saying about some of these supposed benefits. It's like, have they really been measured? Here is what's happening. Back in 1915, everything ran on like coal. So yeah, you're going to save some energy if everything runs on coal. By 1973, energy has become much more efficient. So you're savings on energy by doing daylight saving time, probably not as much anymore. Right. Okay. And think about even today, it's probably non-existent now. A senator from Iowa said, it's time to recognize that we may have made a mistake. Boy, that sure would be nice to hear from a congressman today, wouldn't it?

You don't like my political stand-up? I honestly think it's nice to hear from anyone when people own mistakes. I mean, that's true. That's why our mistakes of shame segment is so popular. And so shameful. Mm-hmm. I'm freaking burning up in here. I need to take my pants off or something.

I feel like I am slowly getting sick. It started as a joke when I said, I'm going to be sick when it's time for my story. I feel like I am slowly melting into this chair. I'm freaking out a little. It's a whole thing. Kristen, hang on. Oh, my God.

My water has never tasted so good. You know that feeling when you're about to get sick? I think we're just hot. Well, obviously. This rim shot. The button is wearing out. I've been hitting it so many times. Okay.

So, yeah, Congress is like, oh, maybe we made a mistake with your long daylight saving time. Well, the decision came easy because on March 18, 1974, those Arab countries ended their oil embargo. It would take a little time for energy prices to come back down. though. And there were still another year left on the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Act. But people were like, we are done with year-long daylight saving time. We're not doing it anymore. Yeah. And so the Department of Transportation, they wanted to find out, okay, what's the best time period for daylight saving time? And so they did the most extensive study ever recorded in the history of mankind on daylight saving time. And here is what they found. When it came to energy savings,

Daylight saving time saved about 1% usually less. Okay. When it came to crime, the study found that, yes, daylight saving time did reduce crime by as much as 13% in some parts of the country. Okay. And despite all of those sad stories of kids getting hit by cars, the study showed that overall car accidents were down about 1% during daylight saving time. That's interesting. They were down overall, but reporting of them went up, I assume. So here's what they thought. Okay.

Accidents were up in the winter because it was dark. Sure. But they were down in the summer because the light was out longer. Oh. So it kind of like evened out a whole year long. Okay. Ultimately, the Department of Transportation recommended that daylight saving time should be changed from a year to eight months, from February to October. And so that's what they did. They amended the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Act.

But that only lasted a year. In 1975, that act expired. Daylight saving time returned to normal from April to October. For the next 10 years, people left time alone. Thank God. America seemed content at last with their timekeeping. But like many things in our society, Kristen, money changes everything. What the hell? Ch-ch-cha, cha, cha. In the mid-1980s, 7-Eleven got some pretty harsh feedback on their convenience stores. Apparently women didn't like going into 7-Elevens after dark. Well, yeah. For some reason, they said it felt dangerous. Yeah. What's with that? You're a woman. Explain. You and I have had this conversation quite intensely before. Oh, we have. So you tell me and we'll see how well you listened

to my lecture. Everyone he's freaking out. He doesn't remember what was said to him. Well, we're talking about when we were looking at houses a long time ago. Uh-huh. And I liked these cool old houses in like a historic neighborhood, but wasn't in the best part of town. And I was a bad, bad boy. And I was Like, what's the big deal? These are so cheap. These are cheap houses and they're so cool. And I wasn't thinking about Kristen's safety when she walked our little peanut dog around the neighborhood. And that was Bad Husband Award.

I won it that year. Yeah, I feel very strongly. And when it comes to stuff like that, the most vulnerable person makes the decision. Mm-hmm. And we didn't buy that house. Yeah. So, yeah, what does 7-Eleven do? What are they supposed to do, Chris?

Make the store safer? No, how about we fuck with time again? Is 7-Eleven really that powerful in the mid-80s that they can do this? Listen. Alone, they are not powerful. But with others, they become united as one. So 7-Eleven and a couple other big-time businesses came together, and they formed the Daylight Saving Time Coalition.

and their goal Make the period of daylight saving time longer Because then the sun will be out longer for more days And that means more women will shop at 7-11 Guess who else joined the coalition? McDonald's McDonald's said hey, with more sunlight People are going to be out playing sports

And then they're going to stop by Mickey Dees And get a big old, big old juicy burger on the way home Out playing sports and then they come to McDonald's Hell yeah That sounds like some bullshit Okay You've never played adult league softball. No, but I've gone to McDonald's many times,

and it's not because I'm being so fit and active. I got news for you. Adult softball, no one's fit and active playing adult softball, okay. Hardees, aka Carl's Jr., they said, hey, if we have longer daylight saving time, each store is going to make an additional $880 per week. Okay. And then other businesses join the coalition.

out that everybody just hates Hardee's. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I frequented Hardee's many a time in high school. We don't need to hear about your sad younger years, Norman. That's fair. No one wants to hear about that. So yeah, other businesses joined, barbecue grill makers, sporting goods stores, amusement parks,

candy manufacturers. Because they were like, oh, yeah, daylight saving time during Halloween. That's great for us. This is so gross. The Daylight Saving Time Coalition included 8,000 companies with annual sales of over $100 billion. Opposition came from the usual people, farmers, religious folks. But Kristen, in an incredible move, Congress refused to be influenced by them. They said, no, we are supporting our rural farmers.

We have messed with their schedules for too long. No. So 7-11. You're foolish. How about you take a big gulp of our nuts? That did not happen. Yeah, I'm just kidding. Congress was like, oh, yes, Daddy, whatever you say.

Oh, my goodness. So they snuck a daylight saving time change into a fire prevention bill. Oh. And Ronald Reagan signed it into law on July 8, 1986. Oh, pretty good. Well, daylight saving time changed. It now started the first Sunday in April. instead of the last Sunday in April.

And that lasted for about 20 years. But in the 2000s... My God. Leave it alone! In the 2000s... A bunch of wild stuff happened. 9-11, the War on Terror, the invasion of Iraq. Normie C. has voted most humorous in his senior year of high school.

Oh, my God. It's true, though. Mm-hmm. And wouldn't you know it? All those things caused energy. prices to soar. I don't think that your thing had anything to do with anything. We'll have to look into it. Yeah, okay.

We can't prove that it didn't have anything to do with it. So Congress immediately looked for a quick fix, and they were like, hey, how about more daylight saving time? So they wrote up a gargantuan energy bill, and that included a two-month extension for daylight saving time. Well, the farmers were absolutely, eh, they just gave up. I don't blame them. With modern farming equipment and techniques, daylight saving time really didn't matter all that much anymore.

So their opposition was non-existent now. So on August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which set daylight saving time from the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. to the first Sunday in November at 2 a.m. And here we are today, still far. following that. Well, most of the United States is anyway. Arizona still exempts themselves. So does Hawaii. Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa.

Will he keep that burp in? Only time will tell. Time as in daylight savings time. He's not feeling well. Beautiful. Thank you. Our Canuck neighbors to the north in good old Canada, they follow the same period of daylight saving time as the United States, except for the province of Saskatchewan and the Yukon territory. The European Union adopted their own daylight saving time period from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

In fact, William Willett would absolutely cream all over his horses back, knowing that 70. 70 countries around the world practice daylight saving time. Do you think he really would? Not the cream. But like, he'd be thrilled. 70 countries around the world. Once you hear all this chaos, wouldn't you be like, oh, maybe I just should have. No, he would have said, well, you Americans are huge idiots for.

Yeah, I mean, that's, you do hear this tale and you go, man, we really, we've really messed this one. And I only'd say he'd cream on his horse's back because, you know, he does his daily horseback ride. Yeah, we remember that. Yeah, I'm not saying that he's like making love to the horse or anything. Oh, sure. It would be non-consensual anyway. But none of us are, none of us are wanting to hear any more of this. Okay.

I speak for the listeners. Okay, okay. You're done with the topic or you don't want to hear about cream on horses anymore? Actually, all of it. And never mentioned World War I on this podcast again. Oh, incredible truths being thrown out right now, folks. Okay, so, yeah, we have daylight saving time. It still comes with its quirks.

Did you know that many liquor laws require bars to close at 159 a.m. Instead of 2 a.m.? No, I did not know that. Yeah. So you can't get an extra hour of drinking in for daylight saving time? Oh. Well, who cares? The government cares.

That's why they changed it. But it, okay. All right. Fine, fine, fine, fine. It could be dangerous. I mean. An extra hour of drinking. Yeah, okay. People are going to drink. I mean, what? I don't know. Go home and drink, okay. All right, I will. All right. When the clocks are set back in the fall, Amtrak trains in the United States literally stop at 2 a.m.

And they wait an hour before continuing to avoid any issues. That makes sense. Mm-hmm. an incredibly intelligent and cool history ho commented on our subreddit, our slash old-timey podcast, that daylight saving time is a nightmare in the medical field, particularly with newborns and feeding schedules. Oh, I did see that. Yeah. Plus, the electronic medical system goes down during daylight saving time to adjust. Plus, night shift people have to work an extra hour when the clocks get set back in the fall, which sucks butt.

pull. That is bullshit. Yeah. I remember working in the hospital during daylight saving time. That did suck. I only went through it once. But you get paid for the extra hour, right? I was salaried. Oh. Oh. Ew. That really. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember. I remember it vividly. I was sitting there. Mm-hmm. And I look at the clock and it like jumped back an hour. And I was like, I was like, what happened? I didn't realize it was daylight saving time. I didn't realize it was the day. Yeah. And I was like, what happened?

Did I just like make up that last hour I worked? And my coworker was like, yeah, dude, it's daylight saving time. It's like, no. That was a weird place to work at night. A hospital? I bet. Yeah. You'd walk down like just empty, dark wards of hospitals, like fixing computers.

It was creepy. I'd rather be in a 7-Eleven. Well, it's much safer for you now. Thanks to daylight saving time. And yeah, you know, Kristen, changing that clock twice a year, it's messing with people's sleep patterns. I know you're not a fan. I'm not. Yeah.

I'm actually, I don't like that either. I don't like the changing of the clocks. I think it does mess with people's circadian rhythm or whatever it's called. And it makes you wonder, is daylight saving time even worth it anymore? It's a fair question. And it's one that President Donald Trump just recently asked. on his safe space social media site, Truth Social. Literally a week ago, I'm not shitting you, a week ago, he wrote, quote,

The House and Senate should push hard for more daylight at the end of a day. Very popular. And most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience, and for our government, a very costly event, triple exclamation point. Norm, how does it feel to be so deeply in tune? with this administration. It feels great. So yeah, President Donald Trump wants to make daylight saving time permanent.

Year-round daylight saving time. Hey, didn't that go really badly in the 70s? Noted Cuck, Ted Cruz, agrees with President Donald Trump. He called daylight saving time, quote, an outdated and harmful practice. He said it made sense in the early 20th century, but advancements in technology have made the so-called energy-saving benefits basically non-existent. Cruz said, quote, the disruption to sleep patterns

and the result in fatigue can have consequences on our productivity, mental health, and well-being. Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with Ted Cruz. Well, you know what they say. A broken cuck is right twice a day. Do they say that? Is that the same? I think that's the saying.

It's cuck chaos over here. The scientific and medical community leans toward getting rid of daylight saving time and just going back to standard time. It's based on science. It keeps us more aligned with the sun. And the benefits of daylight saving time don't really outweigh the cons. It's time for it to go. So, Kristen, after being forced to learn about this really, really interesting subject, which way do you lean now? Should we have a permanent daylight saving time?

Do we go back to standard time? Or do we just kind of keep everything how it is? Honestly, it feels ridiculous to say, let's change it again. After I know how often it's been changed, you know, it just feels silly. Okay, so my options are keep things the way they are. Make daylight savings time permanent. That's what Donald Trump wants. Permanent daylight saving time.

Okay. So people get more of the sunlight after they're done at work. We don't change the clocks anymore. But in the winter, you wake up and it's like pitch blackout. I don't know. I hate all of this. I hate all of this. What?

Um. You coward. Make a decision. There's no wrong answer. What do you think? No one's going to like cancel you for your choice. Well, no, that's not what I'm worried about. I'm trying to actually make a decision.

And inform decision. I don't know, man I mean, I guess Keep it but make it permanent Like my good pal Don Wants it to be Unbelievable Okay, you want permanent daylight saving time

I guess not really I don't know what I want What do you want I would actually be a fan of either one Permanent daylight saving time Oh, make a decision I am Cancel you make a decision

My whole thing is I don't want to change clocks anymore. Yeah, I agree. So I think we just choose one. We either all do standard time. We all do daylight saving time. I really don't care. I think I'd lean more toward permanent daylight saving time. I know that's not like the most scientifically accurate time.

But like we kind of invented the concept of time. So like let's make it work for us. Time is a construct. Let's make this construct ours. That's right. For the next couple years or until we get into another war. Am I right? Let's give it a cute little necklace.

What? Some boots. What? Beautiful dress. We're dressing up this time construct, baby. Make it yours. Are you trying to make this like a pretty woman situation? Let's make time beautiful, baby.

Well, I hope that was enlightening, Kristen. History hose, if you are a true sunslut and you want to go to the Mecca of Daylight Saving Time. Head to Chislehurst, England, and you'll find a monument to William Willett. Really? It's near the churchyard where he was buried. On one side of the monument is an inscription in Latin that reads, I mark only the summer hours.

And that's the story of daylight saving time. Your new favorite series on an old-timey podcast. Norm, I would have really loved it if you'd said, there's an inscription in Latin and I have no idea what it says. Ah, yes, which is what our tour guide said on our recent trip to New Bern, North Carolina. We visited the Tri-on Palace, which was the original governor's mansion in colonial North Carolina. And there's this beautiful Latin inscription in the entryway. Literally the only piece of writing in that building.

Yeah. And the tour guide was like, as you can see, there is a Latin inscription in the entryway. I don't know what it says. Because I don't speak Latin. Because I don't speak Latin. And I was like, wow, all right, moving on. What I loved about it was she was kind of condescending as she said that, which was hilarious to me. Yeah.

To say something pretty dumb, but also better than you. Well, it's like the Zach Galefinekis joke. Oh, that's one of my favorite. I told you, I can't read. Yeah, the condescending illiterate. The condescending illiterate. I love that. Yeah.

Yeah, we did a tour of Triumph Palace. It was a beautiful building, but like, yeah, the tour was a little underwhelming to say the least. You know us two nerds. When we go to a scene. We're history hose. Sure. We're going to go to the rehearsal dinner. We're going to go to the wedding.

We're going to party it up. We're going to look fabulous. But also, is there a historical tour? nearby we sure would like to put on some sweatpants and go to that. You're not wearing sweatpants to any tour. No, I was wearing sweatpants. Were you? Yeah.

No, never mind. I looked great in them. That's how you didn't even notice. We also went to the birthplace of Pepsi. That was cool. I kind of want to know more about Pepsi. I might look into it for a future topic. Future topic?

I was intrigued by the fact that it was originally called Brad's Drink. It was called Brad's Drink. Yeah. Really makes me happy. Do do do do. Always Brad's drink. Oh. No, I'm since we're wrapping up, should I read some reviews to you?

Ooh. Yeah. You got some reviews? I sure do. Okay. Okay. This one. All caps.

Subject line. I love my husband so much. Oh. Five stars. Username. Unsolved. couple pod. I have reason to believe this is a fellow sexy independent podcast. Really? The body of the review reads, I not only have a bumper sticker that proclaims my love, but in an act of true love,

I told him about this podcast. Only people who really love their spouses share podcast recommendations. That is true. That is true. Yeah, you know, that's the sign of true love right there. And if you have a bumper sticker that says, I love my wife, I love my husband. I have a I love myself. We're definitely not thinking, oh, it's because you're cheating on them. And you were forced to put that bumper sticker on your car. It's because you share podcast recommendations. Well, maybe we can put out a bumper sticker that says, I love my wife and an old-timey podcast. Or I love my husband and an old-timey podcast. Yes. Yes. And that's okay with me.

For the people who have cheated on their spouses but also love this podcast. We support you. As long as you're plugging this podcast, you can. really do whatever you want. Okay, I've got another one here. This one. The title is, A call to Kristen's Night Guard. A call? A rallying cry?

No. Yeah. I don't think I want to hear this. Five stars, baby. The username is Deluxe MF. The body of the review reads, LGTC was my gateway drug to an old-timey podcast. Oh, shit.

Naturally, I fell for Norm's storytelling and sound effects, but my alliance is and always will be with Kristen. Norman, do not grow that neck beard. You will look like a chode from the shoulders up. I will be withholding my Patreon membership until you agree to end this charade. Well, listen, we haven't hit the goal yet, so you have nothing to worry about.

Yeah, yeah, thank God, thank God. Man, that neck beard is really riling, people up. Well, you will look ridiculous. And I feel, I fear it will take a while to grow it out. Yeah, I will. So, you know, I don't know what kind of chia seeds, chia pet thing I need to do. I realize chia seeds are different from chia pets. They are, yeah. Anyway, I just, I don't want the neck beard to happen. But I do want the Patreon to grow. So it's a real double-edged sword for me. Real catch-22, if you will.

Uh-huh. I think I'm just going to invest in a lot of turtlenecks while I grow the neck beard. Oh, and then your bush will... My bush will what? Fight through the turtle neck. You'll have these really loose, stretched out turtle necks. The collar will just get bigger and bigger, expand and expand like a rubber gasket. Boom!

The neck pews will flourish. May I read one more? are you still having fun? Okay. This one's for you, Norm. Okay. This was from a few weeks back. Title of the review.

A Goofy Movie turned 30 today. Hey! Perfect. If you don't know, I'm wearing my grandfather's goofing around sweatshirt. With Goofy on it. Yeah. Disney Adult, I'm afraid so. Five stars.

Username is Ryan Connor. And the body of the review simply stated. I need not say more. You don't. Yeah. All we need to know is a goofy movie turned 30 today. I really love the idea of someone stumbling upon our podcast. Go into the review, CNN. Do I want to check it out?

And one of the reviews says, a goofy movie turned 30 today. Hey, that's historical. Sure. On this day in history, a goofy movie was released. There we go. Yeah. Norm, a fabulous series. I do have to admit, you and I, we've been doing this for about a year now, truly did not occur to me.

What would happen if one of us was doing a series and got sick? It really rocked us. We were like, oh, no. Yeah, it really did. Yeah, so we usually record on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Yeah. We got home from North Carolina on a Sunday. And I was like, oh, yeah, I'll have, you know, Monday and Tuesday and part of Wednesday to, like, finish my script.

Yeah. And we'll record probably Thursday. Well, worked on the script Monday, did an awesome job. Oh. Worked on the script Tuesday. Did an awesome job. And I was like, hmm, throat feels a little tickly. Uh-oh.

Woke up Wednesday morning. I was dying. I was near death. Death was near. Yes, I was like when Homer ate the old sandwich on that episode of The Simpsons. Everything goes back to The Simpsons. What was that meme you saw that I do applaud you for recognizing yourself? Was it a meme?

It was a tweet. Someone was like, you know, my husband has broken many bones. He's had multiple surgeries, but he's never more pathetic when he has. the cold, he acts like a dying Civil War soldier. And I was like, amen, that is me too. When I am sick, I am the most pathetic version of myself. Truly. You know what I think it is?

Because I've had time to reflect. When you're everyday Normie C, you are work, work, work all day long, work, work, as I sing this song, and you are go, go, go. And my God. When the common cold hits you. Mm-hmm. When the disease known as the flu hits you. So you're finally admitting it is a disease.

I mean, you moan in bed. I do. You lay there like you really truly might not go on. I mean, I felt so bad. I know. I know you did. Horrible. And just so we're clear, I brought him his meals in bed, everyone.

I am giving him a hard time. But I did take care of him. She's very sweet. But I did say, change those pillowcases that you've been coughing all over, my dude. My God. Yeah, I, uh, who, sweating like a trekkie. But I'm on the mend, folks. I came in, finished that script, and we recorded the episode at Sunday right now.

Uh-huh. And we're going to get it out to you by Tuesday. We promise. Oh, my God. Or Wednesday for the listeners on the normal. Tuesday for the real heroes. The pig butter investors on Patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. This has all been an ad, a genius ad.

Should we wrap it up? Yeah, let's wrap it up. Let's wrap it up. Let's see, you know, next week, how sick I am when I tell the story because I'm feeling it happening right now. Norm, you know what they say about history hoes? We always cite our sources. That's right. this episode I got my information from, Seize the Daylight, the Curious and Contentious

Story of Daylight Saving Time by David Pro Row. And a variety of different websites. Check the show notes for more information. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, subscribe. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Join the Reddit community, R slash old-timey podcast. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube and Instagram at Old Timey Podcast. You can also follow us individually on Instagram.

She is the luscious Kristen Pitts-Karuso. I go by Gaming Historian. And until next time, Tudaloo, Tata, and Cheerio.