Daylight Savings Time?

Question

What is the purpose in Daylight Savings Time? We lose an, we gain an hour. Why did we start doing this in the first place?

Answer 1

Daylight Savings Time was first suggested by Benjamin Franklin, as a way of saving lamp oil and heating oil. By turning the clock up an hour in the Spring, Franklin reasoned we would get out of bed earlier with respected to the sun's position in the sky. If we're out of bed, we ain't burning as much oil to stay warm, since in the late 1700s EVERYBODY worked outside as a farmer, blacksmith, or whatever. If we're working, we're not laying in bed being cold.

The modern practice of Daylight Savings Time came into being during World War I, for pretty much the same reasons Franklin suggested it for in the first place 100+ years prior. In the 19-teens factories followed a daylight-following operating schedule for the most part, so when the sun was up, the factories were lit by sunlight, negating the need for as much electrical or oil light. Since the name of the game back then was arms production and fuel conservation for the war effort, elimination of any amount of coal, oil, gasoline, diesel, or electricity from the production process was resources that could be sent "over there" for the military to use, instead.

Today's Daylight Savings Time is a remnant of the days of World War I, but the energy savings is still substantial.

Answer 2

I found these sites very helpful. There is a lot of information going back to when this was conceived. Take a look.

http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time