By Emily Salvatori, Assistant Editor
Tonight at 2 a.m. people will “spring forward” and adjust their clocks one hour ahead. Besides being a biannual annoyance, people may not really think about daylight saving time beyond adjusting their clocks. As you prepare to set your clocks, here are five things you might not know about daylight saving time:
- It’s not Daylight Savings Time
It is common to hear people refer to daylight saving time as “daylight savings time,” but that is not correct. Daylight saving time essentially saves daylight by allowing more useable hours of the day.
- Daylight Saving Time was not started for farmers
A common misconception is that daylight savings time was started to benefit farmers, but farmers actually fought against it. In fact, instead of helping farmers, daylight saving time has been very disruptive. History.com says, “Rather than rural interests, it has been urban entities such as retail outlets and recreational businesses that have championed daylight saving over the decades.” Farmers have taken the blame for something they did not want.
- Not every state observes Daylight Saving Time
According to National Geographic, “Contrary to popular belief, no federal rule mandates that states or territories observe daylight saving time.” Arizona and Hawaii are two states that do not observe Daylight saving time. U.S. territories Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
- Some people argue we should keep Daylight Saving Time all year long
There have been arguments made frequently for ending daylight saving time, but there are some people making the argument that we should keep it year-round. An article at Vox suggests that this would lead to more days with “reasonable” sunrises and sunsets which would lead to increased physical activity, more economic gains, and lower traffic-related deaths.
- A newspaper once held a contest to “save” daylight
Snopes proved the claim that a newspaper started a contest to see who could save the most daylight was true. The rules of the 1984 contest published in the Eldorado Daily Journal stated, “Those who save the most daylight by midnight of the last day of Daylight Savings Time will be awarded a prize.” The prank also went on to say that “Only pure daylight is allowed. No pre-dawn light or twilight will be accepted. Daylight on cloudy days is allowable. Moonlight is strictly prohibited and any of it mixed with daylight will bring immediate disqualification.”
Unless you live in Arizona, Hawaii, or a U.S territory, don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. this Sunday, and enjoy the extra hour of daylight we will soon be experiencing in the evenings— even though it may be at the cost of a lost hour of sleep.
Photo credit: Emily Salvatori
