MelissaA
Brenton
Shilpa Karhik
Previous Daylight Saving Time Issues
March 23rd 2007 00:25
With Daylight Saving Time ending this weekend for some states of Australia, (That’s right boys and girls – be prepared to put your watches and clocks BACKWARDS one hour.)
I thought I’d remind you all of some relevant mishaps that can be found at webexhibits.org.
These are occasions when Daylight Saving Time caused slightly more than an issue or two due to the actual changing of the time.
Draft Status, Vietnam War
A man, born just after 12:00 a.m. DST, circumvented the Vietnam War draft by using a daylight saving time loophole.
When drafted, he argued that standard time, not DST, was the official time for recording births in his state of Delaware in the year of his birth. Thus, under official standard time he was actually born on the previous day—and that day had a much higher draft lottery number, allowing him to avoid the draft.
Palestinian Terrorists
In September 1999, the Palestinian West Bank was on daylight saving time while Israel had just switched back to standard time.
West Bank Palestinians prepared time bombs and smuggled them to Arab Israelis, who misunderstood the time on the bombs.
As the bombs were being planted, they exploded—one hour too early—killing three terrorists instead of the intended victims—two busloads of people.
Amtrak
To keep to their published timetables, trains cannot leave a station before the scheduled time. So, when the clocks fall back one hour in October, all Amtrak trains in the U.S. that are running on time stop at 2:00 a.m. and wait one hour before resuming.
Overnight passengers are often surprised to find their train at a dead stop and their travel time an hour longer than expected.
At the spring Daylight Saving Time change, trains instantaneously become an hour behind schedule at 2:00 a.m., but they just keep going and do their best to make up the time.
Time Change Riots
Patrons of bars that stay open past 2:00 a.m. lose one hour of drinking time on the day when Daylight Saving Time springs forward one hour.
This has led to annual problems in numerous locations, and sometimes even to riots.
For example, at a "time disturbance" in Athens, Ohio, site of Ohio University, over 1,000 students and other late night partiers chanted "Freedom," as they threw liquor bottles at the police attempting to control the riot.
Chaos of Non-Uniform DST
Widespread confusion was created during the 1950s and 1960s when each U.S. locality could start and end Daylight Saving Time as it desired.
One year, 23 different pairs of DST start and end dates were used in Iowa alone.
For exactly five weeks each year, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were not on the same time as Washington D.C., Cleveland, or Baltimore—but Chicago was.
And, on one Ohio to West Virginia bus route, passengers had to change their watches seven times in 35 miles!
The situation led to millions of dollars in costs to several industries, especially those involving transportation and communications.
Extra railroad timetables alone cost the today’s equivalent of over $12 million per year.
These are occasions when Daylight Saving Time caused slightly more than an issue or two due to the actual changing of the time.
Draft Status, Vietnam War
A man, born just after 12:00 a.m. DST, circumvented the Vietnam War draft by using a daylight saving time loophole.
When drafted, he argued that standard time, not DST, was the official time for recording births in his state of Delaware in the year of his birth. Thus, under official standard time he was actually born on the previous day—and that day had a much higher draft lottery number, allowing him to avoid the draft.
Palestinian Terrorists
In September 1999, the Palestinian West Bank was on daylight saving time while Israel had just switched back to standard time.
West Bank Palestinians prepared time bombs and smuggled them to Arab Israelis, who misunderstood the time on the bombs.
As the bombs were being planted, they exploded—one hour too early—killing three terrorists instead of the intended victims—two busloads of people.
Amtrak
To keep to their published timetables, trains cannot leave a station before the scheduled time. So, when the clocks fall back one hour in October, all Amtrak trains in the U.S. that are running on time stop at 2:00 a.m. and wait one hour before resuming.
Overnight passengers are often surprised to find their train at a dead stop and their travel time an hour longer than expected.
At the spring Daylight Saving Time change, trains instantaneously become an hour behind schedule at 2:00 a.m., but they just keep going and do their best to make up the time.
Time Change Riots
Patrons of bars that stay open past 2:00 a.m. lose one hour of drinking time on the day when Daylight Saving Time springs forward one hour.
This has led to annual problems in numerous locations, and sometimes even to riots.
For example, at a "time disturbance" in Athens, Ohio, site of Ohio University, over 1,000 students and other late night partiers chanted "Freedom," as they threw liquor bottles at the police attempting to control the riot.
Chaos of Non-Uniform DST
Widespread confusion was created during the 1950s and 1960s when each U.S. locality could start and end Daylight Saving Time as it desired.
One year, 23 different pairs of DST start and end dates were used in Iowa alone.
For exactly five weeks each year, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were not on the same time as Washington D.C., Cleveland, or Baltimore—but Chicago was.
And, on one Ohio to West Virginia bus route, passengers had to change their watches seven times in 35 miles!
The situation led to millions of dollars in costs to several industries, especially those involving transportation and communications.
Extra railroad timetables alone cost the today’s equivalent of over $12 million per year.
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