The sudden switch to daylight savings has been unpleasant, as no one explained it to Puff. I had to get up at six, but Puff (after being cruelly dragged outside to do his business) went back to bed.

His clock is the same, so why has mine changed?

I can't explain it to a dog, which is why I have a blog.

But first, I should correct myself. It's Daylight Saving, not "savings," Time. Here's a historical overview:

Contrary to popular belief, the correct use of "Daylight Saving Time" is without an "s" on the end of "Saving." Grammatists assert that the word "Saving" is a participle in this particular phrase, as it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. However, "Daylight Savings Time" is still commonly used and is also found in some dictionaries.

In the United States, the changeover time of 2 a.m. was chosen because it is when most people are at home, and, originally, it was when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants and prevent the day from switching to yesterday, which would be very confusing. The time is also early enough that the entire continental United States has switched by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and churchgoers, especially on Easter Sunday, are out and about.

Some areas of the United States, however, do not observe Daylight Saving Time. It is not observed in Hawaii, the Eastern Time Zone portion of Indiana, and the State of Arizona, except on the Navajo Indian Reservation which does observe it.

Daylight Saving Time has been used in the United States and in many European countries since World War I. After the war ended, the law proved to be unpopular and it was later repealed in 1919.

During World War II, President Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called "War Time," from February 2, 1945 to September 30, 1945. From 1945 to 1966 there was no federal law mandating the observance of Daylight Saving Time, so states and localities were free to choose whether to observe it and when it began and ended. This, however, caused much confusion. Throughout the following years, many changes were made to federal and state laws regulating Daylight Saving Time. Finally, in 1986, a federal law was passed designating the first day of Daylight Saving Time beginning on the first Sunday in April and ending on the last Sunday of October. Only those states in which the legislatures voted to keep the entire state on standard time are exempt.

Does that mean the godless secular atheists won?