Daylight Saving time is tonight … is it really necessary?

By Brinke Guthrie Updated November 5, 2016

Daylight Savings Time: Tricks for Remembering to Set Clocks Back

It’s a staple of the fall season. Following the springing forward of the clocks in the springtime where everyone loses an hour of sleep, we now get that hour back. Tonight before you go to bed, make sure the clocks are set back one hour. In the United States, DST runs from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November. Other countries observe DST with their own time frames. And you may not be aware of this, but the origins of Daylight Saving Time go back to the concept of saving energy.

According to AccuWeather, The Standard Time Act was passed in 1918, with established time zones and daylight savings put into effect. This was done for World War I. The idea was that if daytime hours would sync up better with natural light, fewer tasks would need to be done at night, so we’d save energy.

After World War I, the government pulled the plug on DST. But with the onset of WWII, it was reinstated, spanning early February until the end of September. After the war ended, DST began to be dealt with at local levels. Who thought this was a good idea?

So along came the Uniform Time Act in 1966, and that was that. States could opt out of DST “if they passed proper ordinances.” Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST, along with some U.S. territories. Arizona in particular takes the weather into account — with such heat, there’s no upside to people being out in as much daylight as possible. AccuWeather also notes that Hawaii’s location closer to the equator gives it more consistency when it comes to daylight hours. It would not gain too much by making the DST switch. Besides, who cares about the time if you live in Hawaii? Mahalo and all that.

You have to wonder if DST is really needed anymore. Work schedules are fragmented and energy conservation is at the top of everyone’s minds (or should be), so it bears asking if this is one of those outdated concepts that we can file away.

Here’s just the website to make sure your clocks are accurate to the second. As an aside to all inventors out there — wouldn’t it be great to have a gadget where you hit one button, and all the clocks in your house changed at the same time? Just a dream. Oh, and don’t worry about that extra second.

Topics

Contributor

Brinke’s favorite toys include his Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Toshiba Chromebook 2, Motorola Moto G4, and two Kindles. A…

Outdoors

The best portable power stations

EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Emerging Tech

CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation

Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Computing

This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio

acapela group voice cloning ad

There's a scene in Mission Impossible 3 that you might recall. In it, our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tackles the movie's villain, holds him at gunpoint, and forces him to read a bizarre series of sentences aloud.

"The pleasure of Busby's company is what I most enjoy," he reluctantly reads. "He put a tack on Miss Yancy's chair, and she called him a horrible boy. At the end of the month, he was flinging two kittens across the width of the room ..."