A number of Americans woke up on Sunday, March 14 with two questions on their minds:
1. What is going on with Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez?!?
2. What time is it?!?
The answers to both inquiries are a little bit complicated, but The Hollywood Gossip is here to help as best we can.
First, it appears as if those Alex Rodriguez-Madison LeCroy cheating rumors have led to the end of the baseball player’s engagement to the singer.
However, after numerous outlets reported that these two had split, A-Rod and J-Lo told TMZ they were still together and simply trying to work through some issues.
So TBD, we suppose, when it comes to their relationship status.
Second, and likely more relevant to your daily life?
Daylight saving time marks the practice of advancing clocks during warmer months so that darkness falls at a later clock time.
The typical implementation of v is to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring (aka “spring forward”) and to set clocks back by one hour in autumn (aka “fall back’) to return to standard time.
As a result often-confusing maneuver, there is one 23-hour day in late winter or early spring … and one 25-hour day in the autumn.
In 2021, Americans were tasked with springing forward — as explained above — at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14.
This means that as soon as the clock hit 2 a.m. (in every state except Arizona amd Hawaii, which have gone rogue and do not follow this practice) in all times zones… boom!
The time skipped ahead to 3 a.m.
Wild, right?!?
Overall, Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight.
It was first utilized in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada.
Today, about 40% of countries worldwide use it to make better use of daylight and to conserve energy.
Across the globe, Daylight saving time is now used in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over one billion people every year, although the beginning and end dates vary from one nation to another.
Will we continue to spring ahead and fall back in the United States, however?
In 2018, Florida Senator Marco Rubio first introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would move the entire country to permanent, year-round Daylight saving time.
Rubio has renewed his call multiple times since then, most recently this past Tuesday:
“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,” he Tweeted, citing multiple benefits to permanent DST at the time, including potentially fewer car accidents and easing seasonal depression.
Only the manipulation of time has distracted the public this weekend from wondering what the heck is going on with Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.
This effort is supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who echoed Rubio in highlighting the potential benefits of extending DST.
“Studies have found year-round Daylight Saving Time would improve public health, public safety, and mental health — especially important during this cold and dark COVID winter,” Markey has said.
Opponents of permanent daylight saving time, however, note that winter mornings would be darker, with kids more often having to wait for the school bus in the dark.