decorative clocks
spring forward the annual madness of daylight saving
michael downing is obsessed with daylight saving a loopy idea that became the most persistent political controversy in american history . almost one hundred years ago lawmakers across the country first debated ridiculed and then passionately embraced the possibility of saving an hour of daylight . to this day no one can say for sure why we are required by law to change our clocks twice a year or who first proposed the scheme . br downing unravels the worldwide confusion occasioned by decades of clock manipulation . he sifts through a century of congressional hearings and contemporary newspaper reporting to offer a portrait of public policy in the 20th century a perennially boiling stew of unsubstantiated science profiteering masked as piety and mysteriously shifting time zone boundaries . it is a true to life social comedy with congress in the leading role surrounded by a supporting cast of opportunistic ministers movie moguls stockbrokers labor leaders educators sports fanatics and farmers . this dizzyingly hilarious debate seems destined to continue for as long as we ask one another what time is it