European clocks jump forward one hour this Saturday after midnight
Mar 29th, 2013, 08:01 AM
#5
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why 2 am?
why not midnight?
Now in my state it was 2 am when we sprang forward a few weeks back but that is only because the bars close at 2 am and they did not want bars to lose an hour of drinking time and profits.
But why 2 am in Europe - something to do with time zones?
why not midnight?
Now in my state it was 2 am when we sprang forward a few weeks back but that is only because the bars close at 2 am and they did not want bars to lose an hour of drinking time and profits.
But why 2 am in Europe - something to do with time zones?
Mar 29th, 2013, 08:29 AM
#6
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What does this do to plane schedules?
For me, it puts them back to normal. I travel to Switzerland at least twice a year, and typically the time difference is 7 hours from my US location. I just returned two days ago, US is on DST and Switzerland had not yet changed. It meant that my departure time was one hour later than usual, and my arrival back in US was one hour later than usual. Planes still require the same amount of actual travel time. DST does not change that.
For me, it puts them back to normal. I travel to Switzerland at least twice a year, and typically the time difference is 7 hours from my US location. I just returned two days ago, US is on DST and Switzerland had not yet changed. It meant that my departure time was one hour later than usual, and my arrival back in US was one hour later than usual. Planes still require the same amount of actual travel time. DST does not change that.
Mar 29th, 2013, 08:50 AM
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"But why 2 am in Europe - something to do with time zones?"
It's not.
The EU directive is that the clocks go back at 0100, GMT. By and large, other "European" countries have bought into the spirit of the directive. 0100 GMT is 0200 CET (the zone most places referred to on this forum are in), and later still further east (those buying in include Russia, though it's iffy about it now - so the directive extends to the Aleutian Islands)
It can't be 0000 GMT, because that would put calendar back to the previous day in countries at the edge of the area covered by the directive. It doesn't make sense to fix it at 0100 CET, because - well, GMT is one of the EU time zones and it seems as perverse to have a time-related directive cast in a non-GMT zone as to make Maltese the common language.
It's not.
The EU directive is that the clocks go back at 0100, GMT. By and large, other "European" countries have bought into the spirit of the directive. 0100 GMT is 0200 CET (the zone most places referred to on this forum are in), and later still further east (those buying in include Russia, though it's iffy about it now - so the directive extends to the Aleutian Islands)
It can't be 0000 GMT, because that would put calendar back to the previous day in countries at the edge of the area covered by the directive. It doesn't make sense to fix it at 0100 CET, because - well, GMT is one of the EU time zones and it seems as perverse to have a time-related directive cast in a non-GMT zone as to make Maltese the common language.
Mar 29th, 2013, 08:53 AM
#9
it's done in the middle of the night as by then, most people are asleep and are unaffected by the change, except of course by losing an hour's sleep!
we change all our clocks before we go to bed the night before - in theory.
there's usually one that catches me out though.
we change all our clocks before we go to bed the night before - in theory.
there's usually one that catches me out though.
Mar 29th, 2013, 08:57 AM
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"I think planes stop in the air for one hour so schedules are not thrown off."
In spring, they'd magically fly twice as far in an hour as they'd been before. They'd stop for an hour in the autumn.
Which used to happen (sort of) in Italy. Certainly in the mid-70s, before European standardisation, the Italian system was that public clocks stopped for an hour at midnight, and many public services (like trains) just went into suspended animation. Someone sat there with an unstopped watch, and blew a whistle an hour later. Life then resumed.
Mrs F & I owe our past decades together to this "only in Italy" arrangement. A train due to leave at about 0005 sat there for an hour, and that's how and why we met.
In spring, they'd magically fly twice as far in an hour as they'd been before. They'd stop for an hour in the autumn.
Which used to happen (sort of) in Italy. Certainly in the mid-70s, before European standardisation, the Italian system was that public clocks stopped for an hour at midnight, and many public services (like trains) just went into suspended animation. Someone sat there with an unstopped watch, and blew a whistle an hour later. Life then resumed.
Mrs F & I owe our past decades together to this "only in Italy" arrangement. A train due to leave at about 0005 sat there for an hour, and that's how and why we met.
Mar 29th, 2013, 09:00 AM
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Spring forward and Fall back is the motto here for when we move up an hour in spring and lose an hour in fall.
When Day-Light Savings Time was being debated in my state - Michigan - we had a state referendum on the issue - and one guy seriously said he was not in favor of Day Light Time because he did not want an extra hour of daylight on his lawn - would help burn it up!
When Day-Light Savings Time was being debated in my state - Michigan - we had a state referendum on the issue - and one guy seriously said he was not in favor of Day Light Time because he did not want an extra hour of daylight on his lawn - would help burn it up!
