A guy with a giant clock. Photo from web.
While Quinn has made his points well, let’s just take a moment to appreciate his stupidity and laugh at his ignorance. Now that that’s done, let’s talk about Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Originally proposed by Benjamin Franklin, an American forefather, November 7 marks the end of DST—giving us an extra hour of night. Do your research, Quinn. The switch on November 8 marks the end of long days and short nights. What does that mean for us? Short days and long nights—without a “butterfly effect” (source: history). It’s really as if the government were saying, “Hey kids. We know you’re in school now and don’t need long summer days, so we’re going to give you more nighttime! Party on, brothers and sisters!”
Quinn said that he was, “not about to give up an hour of raging in return for an hour of mind-numbing hangover.” What he is forgetting, however, is that night now comes sooner. Therefore, you can start partying sooner. So, you do get an extra hour of raging. Whether or not you have a mind-numbing hangover in the morning is up to you and your ability (or inability) to party with a plan, Quinn.
So, imagine it’s the beginning of February. It’s 5:00 PM and you’re exhausted and hungry after your Thursday afternoon government class. What are you, an old person? You can’t eat dinner at 5:00. Think again. It’s dark out, and dark out means dinnertime. You eat and feel so much better, but you are still so stressed out and want to have fun tonight. Funny you should mention that—you can start having fun sooner: it’s darker out sooner! The winter may be miserably cold, but with the extra nighttime hour you can spend your time making a fire and drinking hot cocoa with your friends (who would want to do that in the daylight?), studying (if your into that), raging, whatever.
The most important aspect of the end of DST, however, is the extra hour of sleep. As DST falls on a Sunday this year, the magicians of the calendar have given students a present. Sunday is probably the day you most need an extra hour of sleep. After your hangover in the morning and the five-page paper you were saving for the last minute, you want that extra hour. Your “I hate Mondays” mug might just turn into one that says, “I usually hate Mondays, but not this one because I’m well rested.” So bask in the end of DST. Quit complaining and love the extra hour of sleep/recovery you have been given. •
