By Rosie Moore

During his time as an envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, publisher of the old English proverb, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight. This 1784 satire proposed taxing shelters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise. However, Franklin did not propose Daylight Saving Time.

It was proposed by G.V. Hudson, a man from New Zealand who studied insects, in 1895.That proposal didn’t get anywhere. Then in 1905 a prominent English builder and outdoorsman proposed DST when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through a large part of a summer’s day. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk.

None of these proposals became law, however, failing in the House of Parliament.

In April, 1916, Germany was the first country to use DST as a way of conserving coal during wartime. Many European countries followed suit and the United States adopted it in 1918.

The practice has been both advocated and criticized. Historically, retailing, sports, and tourism interests have favored DST, while agricultural and evening entertainment interests have opposed it. Winston Churchill once said, “It enlarges the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country.” It has been dubbed as Daylight Slaving Time”. Start and end dates vary with locations.

What does this mean to you and me? It means losing an hour of sleep in the spring but regaining that hour back in the fall. We will turn our clocks back November 6th. Don’t forget!

Thought for the day: What then is time? If no one asks me , I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know. St. Augustine

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