Daylight Saving Time Begins This Weekend.

 Unless you are fortunate to live in one of the few places that does not follow Daylight Savings time, you will have to make sure all clocks are moved forward one hour.  I realize that most people rely on digital devices for discovering the time so they don't have to worry about resetting those but if you have a clock on your stove you might have to change those.

We know the idea has been around a very long time but it hasn't been used regularly until the 20th century.  Even over the past century, the rules for when it commenced and ended changed according to the rules implemented by the government among others.

According to resources I've read, Benjamin Franklin is the one who came up with the idea when he lived in Paris as the American Ambassador.  His idea simply said that people would use less energy during summer months if they had one more hour of sunlight during the evening.  It didn't take off until World War I when Germany implemented it as a way of saving energy.  Others in Europe followed and finally the United States adopted it in 1918 but ended it when World War I ended.

The United States reinstated Daylight Savings time during World War II but this time they called it "War Time" and the country stayed on it year round. Once the war ended, states, cities and towns had the option to follow Daylight Savings time if they so chose.  Due to the chaos this created, the United States Government finally created the "Uniform Act" of 1966 that required any state following Daylight Savings time to begin it the first Sunday of April and end it the last Sunday of October.

In 2007, the government changed the rules again to begin Daylight Savings time the second Sunday of March and ending the first Sunday of November which is why it didn't start till March 8th this year instead of the first.  There are at least two states that do not participate and other states working to become exempted.

There are a few things about going on Daylight savings time we don't think about because they may not effect us directly.  For instance, television ratings tend to drop in the spring just after it goes into effect.  This has to do with the amount of light available and the changing temperatures.  During winter, people are more likely to come home, switch the television on and enjoy watching an evening of programming but when the clocks change, these same people are more likely to run errands or enjoy outdoor activities.  One study showed that television shows lost 10 percent of their viewers on the Monday night right after the change.

On the other hand, both the bbq and golf industries love the change because the extra evening daylight means more people are out golfing or having barbecues so the industries are making more money.  In fact, the candy makers also love it because the additional sunlight, even in October, allows children to be out a bit longer collecting candy.  More light + more children = more candy given out.

Research has also discovered that SAT scores can drop immediately after the time change because it messes with teen-agers sleep patterns so they get less sleep.  They found there is a 2 percent decrease in scores at this time of the year.  It has also been found that people are more likely to have more accidents, more heart attacks, and more cluster headaches.

In addition, one reason given for using Daylight Savings time is that it saves energy.  According to a study done by the Department of Transportation, Daylight Savings time results in a one percent savings of energy every day but according to another study done by the University of California, people use between one to four percent more electrical power during this period of time.

Personally, I hate Daylight Savings time because I live in Alaska and by the time we go on it, we already have a nice amount of day light.  It really doesn't make any difference up here.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Daylight Saving Time and 8 Things You May Not Know About It.

It will soon be that time of year  when most people in the United States will have to set their clocks ahead one hour .  I checked the internet.  This year its  scheduled to happen on  March 13, 2016.

Although the idea has been around for many years, it was not actually implemented in the United States until 1918.   Woodrow Wilson signed it into law to help the war effort.  Robert Garland from Pittsburgh brought the idea over from Britain and proposed it.  The idea was by changing the clocks its supposed to save energy.

The law was repealed seven months later but several large cities such as New York, continued using it until 1942 when it was implemented nation wide.  It was used year round due to World War II.  It started in February of 1942 and lasted till 1945 when Japan surrendered.

Between 1945 and 1966, there was a lot of confusion because places were able to choose if they would use daylight saving time.  In 1966, the federal government passed the universal daylight saving time act so it was was used  from the last Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October.  In 1973 with the oil shortage, daylight savings time was used for longer periods till things returned to normal in 1976.

After some playing with the schedule, the government finally settled on the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday in November.  Even to this day, Hawaii, Arizona and a couple other places do not participate in this.

8 things you may not know about it.
1. It is actually Daylight Saving Time.  It is not plural.

2. Benjamin Franklin did not propose daylight saving time, he only proposed people change their sleeping hours.

3. William Willett, a British citizen, organized the first campaign to implement daylight saving time. He figured people could enjoy more sunlight this way.

4.  Germany was the first country to actually implement daylight saving time in 1916.

5. Daylight saving time was not put into effect to benefit the farmers. I know some farmers who tell me that cows cannot tell time and still need to be milked at the same time regardless of the clock time.

6.  For decades, there were no rules to determine the patchwork of places using daylight saving time.  For example in Iowa alone, there were 23 different start and stop times.  That is just one state.  Imagine trying to travel cross country and keep track of all the different times along the route.

7. Hawaii and Arizona along with Guam and other American Territories do not participate in it.

8.  There is no conclusive evidence that going onto Daylight Saving time actually saves energy.

I live in Alaska and it is a pain to change back and forth because of the wide swings on length of daylight, it isn't worth doing but we do.   Enjoy reading this and don't forget to mark your calendars.