Daylight
Savings Time: ruining our sleep schedules since 1918. Yes, it’s that
dreary time of year again; the time we all lose an hour of sleep.
Daylight Savings Time kicks in this weekend on Sunday, March 10th, 2013
at 2:00 a.m. So, despite “spring forward” sounding cheery, start
preparing now for grumpy Bostonians, bitter they’re stuck feeling
fatigued. There’s nothing we love more than turning our clocks forward
one full hour.But where does this sorry spring tradition come from anyway? Well, here are five things you might not have known about Daylight Savings Time.
You Can Blame it on Benjamin Franklin
The Founding Father first suggested we reset our clocks back in 1784 in an effort to save on candles. It wasn’t until 1918, however, that his idea came to fruition, when the U.S. railroads initiated a standardized time for their train schedules. The change was first imposed during World War I to conserve energy, but was repealed after the battle ended. Yet, it became the national time again during World War II, and it was left up to the states to decide if they wanted to adopt the change, as well as when it would start and end.You Can Avoid the Whole Mess By Moving to Hawaii
Hawaii does not observe Daylight Savings Time, nor does every part of Arizona. Let’s just say, I would hate to be the person who opted to move to Phoenix instead of staying in the mountains.We Used to Have Until April
Daylight Savings Time had always been in April, until the Energy Policy Act of 2005 required the start time move to March. At least in April, we could regard the shift as some sick sort of April Fool’s prank.Productivity Goes Downhill
A 2012 study found that the day after we set our clocks forward, there is a 3.1 percent increase in “cyberloafing.” One less hour of sleep, and apparently employees are surfing the net, writing emails or performing other Internet-related tasks that aren’t at all related to their jobs just a wee bit more than usual.We’re Trying to Save the Planet, People
Although the U.S. Department of Transportation formerly discovered Daylight Savings Time decreased electricity usage by about one percent, later studies have shown savings if offset by us running air conditioners. We’re trying to save the planet, people, so don’t start cranking up the AC now.And don’t start getting cranky either. Here are some Daylight Savings memes just to put a smile on your face while you’re waiting to turn the clocks forward.
