Monday, March 12, 2012

How Daylight Savings Actually Came to Be

The door slammed shut and brought Deborah from the pages of her book, "Oh, hello Ben."  Benjamin didn't answer.  He walked slowly into the parlor, dropped his briefcase and collapsed into his chair.  "Ben, what's wrong?"

Ben took off his bifocals and rubbed his eyes, "I'm just so tired of the guys looking to me to answer every little problem."

"Oh... could you not answer this one?"

"No, but only because there is no answer.  For some reason, they've decided that 'something' needs to be done about the time not always matching up with the sun."

"What?"  Ben wasn't sure if Deborah didn't understand the problem or if she was as flabbergasted as he was at their stupidity.

"They say the farmers can't get as much done in the day because they wake up before the sun, and their hands quit before the sun's gone down because it's time for them to go home."

"Is this really a problem the Government needs to get involved in?"

"No.  Why should we?  Why don't the farmers just wake up with the sun, and tell their hands that they work until the sun goes down?  The whole thing's ridiculous."

"So what do they want to do?"

"Nothing yet, or at least I hope nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when they brought it to me, I made a joke, and they didn't start laughing until I did."

"What was the joke?"

"Oh, I said that twice a year we should change the time an hour so people wake up an extra hour when the sun is out longer."

"Well, that's not that funny.  Maybe that's why they didn't laugh."

"Maybe... hopefully.  I'd hate to be remembered as the guy who came up with something stupid like that."

"Ben, you've come up with bifocals, you've done some incredible work with electricity, and you worked on The Declaration of Independence, surely no one will think you came up with something this ridiculous."

2 comments:

  1. Therein was Franklin's mistake. You never EVER joke with a politician. The most asinine ideas sound good to them.

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    Replies
    1. "What's that? Something new I can hang my political career on. Where do I sign?"

      It really is one of the few things with Ben's name on it that doesn't look like an outstanding accomplishment.

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