Time Changes This Weekend, Don’t Blame Ben Franklin
The semi-annual switch for daylight saving time officially begins Sunday morning at 2 a.m. which for some people confuses their body's wake-sleep cycle. Who should get teh blame?
When it comes to moving the time forward or backward, it seems that people are pretty well divided on both sides of the clock. Some think it's silly to change the time, while others are all in favor of the time change.
Personally, I love the long days of summer and despise going home at 5:00 in the dark in the winter.
It is believed the concept of daylight saving time originated with Benjamin Franklin while he was an American ambassador in Paris in 1784, wrote a humorous letter to the Journal de Paris which was published under the title 'An Economical Project.' The letter was not one of Franklin's scientific writings but a parody of himself and his lifestyle and habits.
The fact is, though, Ben Franklin did not invent Daylight Saving Time. He did, however, suggest that people change their sleeping habits as a means of saving money on candles and lamp oil.
An immense sum! That the city of Paris might save every year, by the economy of using sunshine instead of candles.
- Ben Franklin
If you want someone to blame for Daylight Saving Time, how about New Zealand Entomologist George Hudson who proposed the idea of more daylight in the evenings in 1895.
Regardless of your view of the time change, moving your clock back one hour this weekend is not optional. Saturday night (November 3) before we go to bed, we'll be falling back an hour - and enjoying one extra blessed hour of sleep.