Warwick, RI — Daylight Saving Time takes effect this Sunday, so make sure your clocks — at least the ones not managed by our future robot overlords — are moved ahead by an hour.
The idea of Daylight Saving Time was first introduced by Ben Franklin, who suggested in a letter to the Journal of Paris in 1784 titled: “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” that it would make the best use of daylight hours.
National Geographic.com’s “The Strange and Surprising History of Daylight Saving Time”, points out the satirical nature of Franklin’s piece, but hints at the possibility that the US Ambassador to France, an renowned advocate of thrift, saw the merit in the idea but cloaked it in humor.
TimeandDate.com lists the first use of the practice in the United States in 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson instituted it to support the World War I war effort. After, it fell into sporadic use in America until President Franklin D. Roosevelt brought it back in 1942.
These days, the practice continues on the second Sunday in March.
While most modern gadgets — cell phones, alarm clocks, some TVs — switch the time automatically, it’s still a good idea to change the times on other devices Saturday night before bedtime.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
This is a test
