Lizzie Borden Society Forum

As I sat re-reading Geary's graphic novel last night, I thought "It's Wednesday, and Maggie is just getting back to the house. Lizzie's already spilled her beans to Alice."

Now, this moment, it's 10:10 Thursday morning, and poor old Abby is bleeding in the guest room.

Oh, and it struck me (ha, ha!) that Geary's first having Abby hit from behind is not supported by the gash over her ear, which many believe was the first blow, received while facing her killer.

I was reading Geary last night too, but his Volume 1 in the Victorian Murder Series!

Are you allowing for Daylight Savings Time?
The year the anniversary date fell on an actual Thursday we were all in the car with Len & Bill and were counting out the events time-wise, until later in the day we realized we were off by an hour!

"You see, in the end it was child's play to uncover the murderer's identity, as he'd forgotten to allow for Daylight Saving Time!"

Oops! When did DST begin?

In any case, I'm feeling very Lizzie-ish this time of year!

Well, actually we might be safe on this point. It appears that Daylight Savings Time didn't actually fall into common use until ca. 1907, roughly fifteen years after the murders.

Here's a small squidge on the origin and history of DST, from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia:

Benjamin Franklin, when serving as U.S. minister to France, wrote an article recommending earlier opening and closing of shops to save the cost of lighting. In England, William Willett in 1907 began to urge the adoption of daylight saving time. During World War I the plan was adopted in England, Germany, France, and many other countries. In the United States, Robert Garland of Pittsburgh was a leading influence in securing the introduction and passage of a law (signed by President Wilson on Mar. 31, 1918) establishing daylight saving time in the United States. After World War I the law was repealed (1919). In World War II, however, national daylight saving time was reestablished by law on a year-round basis. National year-round daylight saving time was adopted as a fuel-saving measure during the energy crisis of the winter of 1973–74. In late 1974, standard time was reinstituted for the winter period. In 1987 federal legislation fixed the period of daylight saving time in the United States as the first Sunday (previously the last Sunday) in April to the last Sunday in October; it was expanded in 2005 (effective 2007) to extend from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Arizona and Hawaii do not use daylight saving time.

http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0814845.html

Merci!

So were were off by an hour, right?
We had all Lizzie brains in that car and none thought of it until evening time!

Anyway, it would be 9 am at 8 am? Or the other way around, is what I want to know.

hmmm...back one hour I think, presuming we're talking about eastern time zone...so ayup. 11:15 by our today clock would have been quarter past ten in 1892. That's probably why it struck daylight so early in those days...yaknow?

This stuff confuses me...so if I am in a car, going 65 miles an hour, stuffed into the back seat with Harry and Bill Pavao, and it is August 4th (it was) and it was 11 am, and if someone said Andrew is being killed about now, it should have been said at 10 am?

Well, the easiest way to think of it (I think, anyway) is anytime you run into a stated time, think of it as that time - period, no conversion, nothing else. It only starts getting confusing when you drag the cars and the modern DST hogwash into the mix. Know what I mean?

The only times - instances, let's say - where time conversion would apply in this case (and speaking only about the United States here rememmber) would be if different time zoneswere involved. Eastern to Central to Mountain or Pacific - same then as they are now.

I'd like to see you, Bill and Harry out for a jaunt in a carriage at 65 miles an hour. They'd have you all locked up for speeding, not to mention cruelty to animals!

Kat @ Fri Aug 03, 2007 5:27 pm wrote:This stuff confuses me...so if I am in a car, going 65 miles an hour, stuffed into the back seat with Harry and Bill Pavao, and it is August 4th (it was) and it was 11 am, and if someone said Andrew is being killed about now, it should have been said at 10 am?

It should be said at noon. The clocks are set an hour ahead of standard time to arrive at daylight savings time, so twelve o'clock daylight time is actually eleven o'clock standard time.

Unless you are traveling east in the car, then all bets are off.

Thanks. We were ahead of ourselves, I guess, not behind.

I read that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got the first speeding ticket in England.