According to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, the first daylight saving time policy began in Germany in 1916, hoping to save energy during World War 1. Even though the Germans were first to officially implement daylight saving time, they likely got the idea from the British.
While on an early-morning horseback ride around the London countryside in 1905, a man named William Willett had an epiphany. He thought that the United Kingdom should move its clocks ahead by 80 minutes between the months of April and October so that more people could enjoy the sunlight.
In 1907, Willett published his thoughts in The Waste of Daylight. He wrote, “the sun shines upon the land for several hours each day while we are asleep” and yet there “remains only a brief spell of declining daylight in which to spend the short period of leisure at our disposal.” He did mention that energy could be saved (fewer hours to keep the lights on), but his primary desire was to enjoy more time in the sunlight. He lobbied Parliament for legislation until his death in 1915—not living to see the law passed.
Contrary to popular belief, daylight saving time had nothing to do with farmers. In fact, farmers deeply opposed daylight saving time. Farming tasks are dictated by the sun, not the clock. Daylight saving time was very disruptive. Farmworkers ended up working more since the cows were ready to be milked an hour earlier and they still left for dinner at the same time all year round.
The first U.S. law for daylight saving time went into effect in 1918 for the same energy-saving reasons as mentioned above. Many laws related to daylight saving time have come and gone over the years, but it’s still a very real thing for many of us here in the U.S. to this day.
INTERESTING FACTS
- The correct term is “daylight saving time,” not “daylight savings time.” Since the word “saving” acts as part of an adjective rather than a verb, the singular “saving” is grammatically correct.
- Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time.
- During the 1970s energy crisis, Congress ordered all states to go on daylight saving time year-round between January 1974 and April 1975.
INTERESTING VIDEO
INTERESTING REFERENCES
- Time.com – The Real Reason Why Daylight Saving Time Is a Thing
- History.com – 8 Things You May Not Know About Daylight Saving Time
- USAToday.com – 10 things you didn’t know about daylight saving time
Very interesting. Lawmakers just approved a bill here in Florida to keep Daylight Saving Time going throughout the year, but we have to wait for the federal government to approve it. States like Hawaii and Arizona chose to exempt themselves from Daylight Saving Time, but federal law won’t allow us to exempt ourselves from Standard Time without their approval. I remain hopeful.
I thought it was interesting as well.
Sounds like way too much federal government involvement to me. I wonder why the feds care.