Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tonight. Since its repair ten years ago, the clock in the Amtrak Station has been pretty reliable. In fact, it was the railroads who were largely responsible for creating the time zones we now take for granted:
The need for continental time zones stemmed directly from the problems of moving passengers and freight over the thousands of miles of rail line that covered North America by the 1880s… Efficient rail transportation demanded a more uniform time-keeping system.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reminds us:
DST was formally introduced in the United States in 1918. Today, most of the country and its territories observe DST. However, DST is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the state of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe DST).
Daylight saving time and time zones are regulated by the U. S. Department of Transportation, not by NIST. However, as an official timekeeper for the United States, NIST observes all rules regarding DST when it distributes time-of-day information to the public.
The change from Daylight Saving time actually takes place at 2am, Sunday, November 7 (local time). But for many people it’s right after Saturday Night Live, tonight with Kieran Culkin!