Time and mind power
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is just around the corner, so get ready to “spring forward” and adjust your clock by one hour on Sunday, March 10th . Here are 5 key things you need to know:
The practice of adjusting our clocks occurs twice a year when clocks jump ahead one hour on the second Sunday in March and back one hour on the first Sunday in November. The concept that dates back centuries, has a fascinating history.
The history of Daylight Saving Time and how this practice began
In 1895, George Hudson, an entomologist from New Zealand, first proposed the idea of a two-hour time shift so he could have more after-work hours of sunshine in the summer. While no change came into effect after Hudson’s suggestion, the idea resurfaced again a few decades later in Germany.
In 1915, the German government began brainstorming ways to save energy for battle during the First World War. During this time, they needed their citizens to reduce the use of artificial light and conserve scarce resources like fossil fuels.
Their solution was to have more daylight during working hours by pushing the clocks forward one hour in the springtime. It was believed that adjusting the time would encourage people to use less energy to light up their homes and reserve important resources for the war.
The first iteration of Daylight Saving Time was officially implemented two years into the First World War in Germany. After Germany established this practice, almost every other country that fought in the war followed suit, including Canada, the United States and much of Europe.
In 1918, the Canadian government formally introduced Daylight Saving Time as a way to increase production during wartime. With the end of the First World War, the federal government ceased Daylight Saving Time, but resumed the practice during the Second World War. all year round in Canada.
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