Like a lot of people, I had a hard time going to sleep last night when the clock said it was bedtime, as my body knew damned well that it was only 11PM, not midnight.) And of course I had a hard time getting up this morning as a consequence; I didn't wake until the annoying alarm went off, when I usually wake up several minutes before it goes off.
The funniest thing about all the fuss today over "Daylight Savings Time" was discovering that we've all been had. I've always accepted the "official" explanation that DST is necessary to save energy and that no less a genius than Benjamin Franklin himself first proposed it. It always seemed a bit silly to me, but I just thought, "If Franklin proposed it I guess it makes sense" and dismissed my doubts.
Then I read Christopher M. Montalbano's column, "
Time Out of Mind," on LewRockwell.com today, and learned the truth. It was the first time I have ever actually seen Dr. Franklin's "proposal." It's priceless; Franklin could yank your chain every bit as well as
The Onion. Old Ben had a very wry sense of humor, and the biggest joke is that someone actually took him seriously and then got the rest of us to go along!
Ben Franklin was the KING of the practical joke!
