A Brief History of Timezones

When I signed into Facebook this morning I was greeted by a notice that on this day in 1883 the railroad industry in North America began using the four timezones that are still in use today. Upon reading that notice I immediately remembered a TED-Ed lesson on the topic. Where did timezones come from? What is "standard time?" The answers to those questions and more can be found in the short TED-Ed lesson How Did Trains Standardize Timezones in the United States? Watch the video below.

Three Video Explanations of Why We Change Our Clocks This Weekend

cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo shared by Kathy Cassidy

Many of us will be moving our clocks back by one hour before we go to bed this evening. We'll get an "extra" hour of sleep because of the change. Unfortunately, sunset will also be coming earlier as a result of the clock change too. Here are three videos that explain why we change our clocks.