Quote Originally Posted by Zenrax View Post
Why is everyone calling it EDT? It's EST. Eastern Standard Time. What does EDT stand for, anyways? Extra Dumb Time?
Hi Zenrax,

Here in the United States we have an old tradition of changing our clocks twice a year for the beginning and end of an event called Daylight Savings Time. You are probably young enough that your computer has always done it for you overnight without you noticing.

This time switching method was originally created in England, so that people would benefit from the longer days in summer by having more after-hours daylight. It came into wide use in World War I, where it helped conserve coal used to light homes. It was eventually translated to the United States.

Since not all states honor DST, it is important to differentiate between Daylight Time and Standard Time when giving time zones, else the time would be 1 hour off. This is why you see EST for Eastern Standard Time and EDT for Eastern Daylight Time.