That's right, Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins this Sunday, March 8th at 2:00am. In honor of the sleep snatching event, for Top 10 Tuesday I thought I would share 10 fun facts to shed some light on why we even bother.
Without further ado, 10 Fun Facts About Daylight Saving Time...
1. Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins this Sunday, March 8th at 2:00am and ends at 2:00am on November 7, 2015
2. Officially, it's Daylight Saving Time, not daylight SavingS time. That's right, NO 's'!
3. Daylight saving time, in the modern sense, was first proposed by an English entomologist, George Vernon Hudson, in 1895. However, another English born gentleman by the name of William Willett, independently thought it up during a morning ride on his horse; he was completely annoyed by the fact that Londoners slept through much of the morning. But since Hudson submitted a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society in New Zealand first, he gets the bragging rights for coming up with DST! Too bad no one listened to either of the men and acted on DST for many years...
4. Daylight Saving Time was first observed on April 30, 1916, by Germany and Austria-Hungry to conserve coal during wartime. Europe followed along the next year. The United States began observing DST in 1918. After the war, the US and many other countries stopped observing DST. It was not until the 1970's, during the energy crisis, did DST become widely adopted again. It has been observed every year since. Well... not by everyone...
5. The entire state of Indiana did not observe Daylight Saving Time until 2006. Arizona and Hawaii still will have nothing to do with DST.
6. There are only 23 hours observed on the day that Daylight Saving Time begins in the spring. The clocks jump from 1:59am to 3:00am. However, 25 hours are observed on the day when Daylight Saving Time ends.
7. In Europe Daylight Saving Time is called, Summer Time.
8. Observing DST year round would annually prevent 195 motor vehicle deaths of occupants, and 171 pedestrian deaths, according to a study reported by USNEWS. It turns out we are much safer drivers during daylight hours.
9. Children can be the most negatively effected by the time change. Experts say to begin the nighttime routine a few minutes early each night during the week leading up to Daylight Saving Time. This will help to prepare their mind and body for the change.
10. In 2005, Kazakhstan did away with daylight saving time. The country's government reportedly calculated that 51.6 percent of Kazakhs responded badly to the time change. Really? 51.6 percent of Kazakhstan are toddlers?
May the force be with you this weekend, my fellow parents. May the force be with you...
