Why Daylight Saving Time Was Never About Farming: The Complete History of What It Was Actually About

I want to be precise about one thing before we begin: I am not the first person to question daylight saving time. I am, however, the first person to question it in the specific way I am about to question it, and I want credit for the specificity.

The official history: it was introduced to help farmers. If you have spent any time near a farm, or near a farmer, or near the concept of a farm, you will understand why this explanation has always struck me as suspicious. Farmers do not structure their days around clocks. Farmers structure their days around light — the very thing daylight saving time merely renames. You cannot trick a cow with a number on a clock. I have asked. I have a contact who farms.

What It Was Actually About

Daylight saving time was introduced in 1918, during wartime. The first mass reset of American clocks occurred during a war. We were asked, by the government, to collectively agree that time meant something different than it had the day before. And we agreed. All of us. Simultaneously. Without individual consent forms. What does it mean when an entire population can be moved through time — even by an hour, even symbolically — by government decree? It means the population has accepted, at a fundamental level, that the government has the authority to define what time it is.

The Twice-Yearly Reset

Twice a year, every American is asked to reset their internal clock. During the adjustment period, studies show increased rates of accidents and medical errors. A population that is slightly, chronically off-rhythm is a population that is slightly, chronically easier to manage. Fall back with awareness. Spring forward with caution. Always know what time it actually is. — Reverend Cyrus Hale, Time: Undisclosed