Time Zones

From: Interesting Facts

"Before 1833, local time was all over the place; communities set their clocks to noon when the sun was highest in the sky, which led to at least 144 different local times in North America. This wasn’t a huge deal when people were traveling slowly by foot and horseback, but with trains, people could suddenly travel across wider distances more quickly — and train operators needed consistent schedules to coordinate. Even small miscommunications about time could lead to missed connections and accidents. Railroads established a four-time-zone system in 1833, and used it for decades before the U.S. government officially established time zones in 1918."