Hopefully you didn’t forget to move your clocks an hour ahead over the weekend for Daylight Saving Time (DST). If so, you probably showed up to work or another appointment a little late! Maybe this was your chance to use DST as an excuse to be late, but we wouldn’t recommend using that excuse beyond Monday. Other than moving the hands of your clock around a bit, have you ever really given much thought to why we do this every year? It’s pretty interesting stuff.
First of all, very few people actually know that the idea of DST was thought up by the late, great Benjamin Franklin. Yes, one of our founding fathers came up with the idea of giving us more daylight. The main principle behind his suggestion was to make better use of daylight by moving the clocks around by one hour seasonally.
Moving the clocks not only allows for better use of daylight but can save a significant amount of energy. Interestingly enough, many people refer to DST as “Daylight Savings Time” but there is no “s” at the end of “saving.” Who knew!
This additional daylight has proven to save lives as well. Extending the day by just a single hour has been shown to decrease the likelihood of pedestrians from being killed by cars – up to four times! In 2007, DST was lengthened by four weeks in an effort to promote energy conservation. Because the daytime is longer, less electricity will be used when people turn on lights at night.
There are more than 70 countries that observe DST, but not all 50 states do. Hawaii and Arizona do not change their clocks at all – except on Navajo Indian Reservations in Arizona. So, if you don’t like changing your clocks, why not relocate to Hawaii, Arizona, or another country that doesn’t require it!
Katie Steil
