Clocks Go Back This Weekend, But Did You Remember These Forgotten Timepieces?
Posted October 31, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you’re like most of us, you never quite seem to have enough time to get everything done. But you can’t use that excuse on Sunday – because you’re getting an extra hour out if it.
This is the weekend where we do the time warp again, turning the clocks back an hour at 2am Sunday morning as the switch over to Standard Time begins. It means it will gradually be a lot darker when you get off work, but it was designed to ensure that your kids go to school when it’s light out during the winter months.
It’s the second year in a row when the semi-annual change occurs earlier than ever. In 2005, the U.S. decided to alter the day when the time rollback happened as a means to save energy. It kicked in in 2007 and Ontario was forced to follow suit.
Still, you’ll get another hour of sleep out of the deal or more time to work on anything else, and that can only be a positive – unless you’re one of the unlucky few working the graveyard shift and wind up with an extra hour on the job.
The time switch is still a matter of controversy in some places. Saskatchewan never makes the change, and some areas in B.C. and Quebec also keep their clocks static all year round. And there’s a place called Southampton Island in Nunavut that never goes back or forth.
Standard Time was originally created by Canada’s Sir Sandford Fleming to allow for uniform train schedules. But despite his best efforts, they still don’t always run on time.
It seems every year there’s always some timepiece in the house you forget about. Your kitchen and bedroom clocks and your watch are obvious. But there are a few other machines to consider as you prepare for this year’s annual set back. Among them:
- Microwave ovens,
- VCR or DVD,
- Answering machines,
- The clock in your car,
- Any automatic timer lights.
Your computer software and satellite receivers should already have updated software that ensures the time change occurs on the right day.
And it’s become something of a cliche, but it’s a good rule of thumb – when you change the time, change the batteries in your smoke alarms. Even though they’re rarely used, they don’t last forever.
An Ontario law mandates that you have to have a working detector on every level of your home or face a fine.
If you’re not a fan of the big switch, consider this: Swedish researchers suggest the fall back is actually good for your heart. They examined records going back 20 years and discovered the number of heart attacks that occurred on the Monday after the return to Standard Time actually decreased by 5 per cent, possibly because more people got that extra hour’s sleep.
But things go the opposite way when we return to Daylight Time. The numbers show cardiac incidents mount by 6-10 per cent on the days after you lose that hour, and insurance companies often see a marked increase in accidents after the change in the spring.
We’ll find out how accurate that is when the next big time shift happens on March 9th, 2009.
