Daylight Saving Time Poll
It's almost time to spring forward, ready or not.
That's right, you're losing an hour of sleep Sunday, March 8th. When you get up, be sure to thank George Hudson while you're brewing your coffee. Seems good ol' George organized the first nationwide implementation of Daylight Saving Time ( DST) on April 30, 1916. Ben Franklin who was a proponent ( not the Godfather) for DST is famous for advocating DST by saying " Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
According to Wikipedia, the rationale behind DST was to synchronously reset all clocks in an area an hour ahead which would benefit people who follow a year-round schedule as they start their day an hour earlier, giving them an extra hour of daylight after their "workday activities". However, there are many articles and theorists that state this additional hour was a duplicitous way to get more labor from employees while store front businesses gained an extra hour of potential income. Energy conservation was another selling point for DST, but we're light years past the candlelight era now and driving to shop all over the place.
Since it's inception, there has been controversy regarding the 'why' we spring forward and fall back. Every reason given as a benefit to "springing forward" is met with the opposite effect when " falling back". For instance, crime rates decrease when we have more sunlight in spring and summer, but the rate increases again when we gain an additional hour of night in the fall and winter months.
One of the most interesting theories as to the "real" reason we have continued to follow a DST schedule when Lyndon B. Johnson declared it law in 1966, is because of the folks lobbying behind the sport of golf which is estimated to be a $70 billion dollar industry for America. Not surprisingly, LBJ was considered to be an absolute maniac when it came to his love of the game.
Daylight Saving Time has a lot of interesting history and theories, something to ponder Monday when you get to work sleepier than you've been in well... a year.
So, what do you think? Should we continue to observe Daylight Saving Time?
Take our free poll below!