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Daylight Saving Time

When we think of Daylight Saving Time (DST), we tend to think of it as this day where we just lose that precious hour of sleep. But this day has more untold purposes and history.

Ancient civilizations had a concept of DST when they would adjust their schedules depending on the sun. Modern DST was introduced by a New Zealand entomologist George Hudson. He proposed a two-hour shift forward in October and a two-hour shift back in March; this idea never fell through. In 1905, a British builder, William Willett, had a variation of this concept and suggested that every four Sundays in April, there should be a shift forward of 20 minutes. And in September, the same, but a shift back 20 minutes.

Fast forward to 1918, the concept of DST, which was called “Fast Time” back then, was introduced by President Woodrow Wilson when he signed a law to support war effort during World War I. But seven months later, this biannual time change was revoked; however, cities like New York and Boston continued to use it. It was later instituted again by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942.

Today, DST is adopted by over 70 countries. The purpose of DST is to save energy and to make a better use of the daylight. In a report to Congress, it is recorded that DST saved about 0.5 percent of the nation’s electricity per day, or 1.3 trillion watt-hours in total. That amount could power 100,000 households for a year.

So next time you think of DST, remember all the time and effort it took to create the concept we know of today—and remember to dedicate that extra hour of light to a meaningful cause.

© 2016 Matt R. All rights reserved.

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