Wait 'til you see the whites of their eyes boys
More than once in the last week I've said something that's got me an odd look from friends and colleagues.

I think it's interesting that Arizona, among other US states, doesn't use daylight saving time.

What's so wrong with finding that interesting?

One can understand why Hawaii, floating in the middle of the Pacific, doesn't feel the need to shift. It's so far behind New York and DC anyway, what's another hour?

But why does a state on the mainland choose to be out of step with the rest of the states in their time zone? Isn't it confusing to suddenly find yourself further behind the east of the country? One day you'll be eating dinner with Denver, and the very next finds you taking high tea with Hollywood. And perhaps most importantly, all your favourite TV shows are on at the wrong time for half the year.

Mind you, at least Arizona's consistent. Indiana, on the other hand, can't make its mind up. Most of the 77 counties in the Eastern Time Zone stay on standard time throughout the year... except for the two that change to daylight time along with the rest of the country, which is the approach shared by the western counties in the central time zone. Wouldn't that mess with your head?

What, I ask you again, is wrong with finding all that interesting?

And if like me you weren't already aware, the whole summertime clock change can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin who, while serving as the US minister to France, suggested in a letter to the Journal de Paris that millions of pounds could be saved each year by using fewer candles during the days of summer, daylight being much easier on the pocket than candle wax.

Franklin recommended that the party town of Paris, accustomed to rising at midday throughout the year, should make better use of summer's early sunlight and that church bells and cannon, plus liberal use of taxes, should be used to encourage people from their beds soon after dawn throughout the year.

Eventually it became obvious that while this was all well and good during the winter, in the summer the hour of rising became so early and the days so long that everyone was knackered by mid-afternoon. So clock hands were put forward an hour in the spring to give folks the chance to doze on that bit longer and consequently make better use of the long evenings.

Which is all my way of saying don't forget to put your clocks back to Zulu time at 0200 tomorrow morning. Unless you're in Arizona.