Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1916 during World War I. The UK followed suit a few weeks later after William Willett proposed the idea in 1905. Benjamin Franklin suggested changing sleep and work schedules, not clocks. Not all US states participate in time changes, and studies show that energy savings are outweighed by increased air conditioning use and fuel consumption.
Daylight saving time was first proposed in the UK, but Germany was the first country to actually put the concept into practice. The Germans adopted a form of DST in 1916 to conserve electricity during World War I. A few weeks later, Great Britain followed suit, introducing “daylight saving time”. The Englishman William Willett had the first brainstorm about changing the clock at certain times of the year. In 1905, he suggested that Britain should move its clocks forward 80 minutes between April and October, so more people could bask in the sun. Year after year, the British Parliament rejected the idea and Willett died a year before action was taken.
Here comes the sun (and the fun):
Benjamin Franklin sometimes gets credit for the DST idea. His writings reveal that he suggested changing sleep and work schedules, not clocks, to make better use of the day’s sunshine and reduce the cost of candle use.
In the United States, not all states participate in time changes. Residents of Hawaii and most of Arizona do not change their watches, and some Amish communities do not participate. The US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands also maintain standard time year-round.
DST advocates have touted energy savings as a boon, but studies have found that increased use of air conditioning outweighs any savings from reduced use of electric lighting. Also, more fun in the sun leads to higher fuel consumption.
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