America tried permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s — and hated it

The idea of halting clock changes is popular and easily passed the House this week. But opponents point out that the last time the federal government tried it, it didn’t go well.

More than 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon pitched a year-round extension of daylight saving time as a way to conserve energy, promising the change would cause only “a minimum of inconvenience.” Instead, his 1970s experiment unleashed wide-ranging problems he didn’t anticipate — offering what some say is a warning amid Congress’ fresh push to try again.

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