summertime/wintertime

[happy_face]

Why do we put the clocks forward and back again at wintertime? What's the real reason? would anything happen if we didn't?

Do all of the world countries do it?

[trouble@top]

its for the farmers, so they can have extra light.i am not sure if other countries do it.

[happy_face]

Noooh!!! surely not. - there are no farmers on Greenland.

Why don't we just have summertime all year round? It's gets darker earlier during the winter regardless of putting the clocks back.

[dzug]

It originated in wartime in order to allow the longest amount of usable daylight without changing nominal working hours - thus saving fuel on lighting, etc. At one time there was double summer time.

It was then seen as a Good Idea in itself, and was kept. It's now a Tradition, tamper with it at your peril.

Most countries do it, but not all. In the tropics where the length of light/darkness doesn't vary much year round there's not much point.

[Lonnie]

The answers about daylight are right, and its also the reason for the six weeks holiday from school, so the kids could help with the harvesting.

[Englishbird]

I nearly didn't make it to work yesterday as I had no idea the clocks had changed, luckily my mother knows I am useless and rang me!

[heathfield]

Englishbird...And everyone else...Why not just buy one or more radio-controlled clocks? They're about the same price now as some ordinary clocks, and change automatically with summertime. No worries, and they're never fast or slow!

The idea of permanent summertime comes up every 15 to 20 years, mainly by people who have no conception of what it's like in the North of Britain in winter. In parts of Scotland it can be pitch dark from 3:30pm to 8:30am which is at least sort of evenly spaced around tradesmens' hours of work. Imagine housebuilders having to wait for dawn at 9:30am - that's what would happen with permanent summertime.

The business about coming into line with Europe won't wash either. The EU itself has more than one time zone. And the US has five, and it doesn't seem to stop their economy.

[gammaray]

I don't know any builders who start much before 10 or finish later than 3.30 anyway.