Monday, March 12, 2018

Sunrise on Daylight Savings Time

I woke up to the BBC giving their spin on how Daylight Savings Time (DST) came into existence.  As they told the story it was one of their own who thought children would play outside longer if there were more daylight hours after school let out.  He proposed a bill in Parliament and for ten years it was debated back and forth but as an energy saving technique.  World War I started.  The German Empire and Austria-Hungary heard that DST might save energy and immediately enacted it.  This, of course, lit a fire under the British and they quickly passed the bill along w/ their allies the Americans.  Interestingly, Daylight Savings Time has never been much of an energy saver but is great for retail.  Businesses noticed that, like the children would get out and play, shoppers would go out and shop if it stayed light longer after they left work.  Golf courses love it so much they lobbied for it!

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