Birmingham Alabama Real Estate Blog

March 9, 2008, Sunday at 2:00 am it is time to Spring Forward and move you clock ahead one hour. For some of us it just the thought of loosing an hours sleep that makes us wonder.... WHY?

Well this year I decided to find out for myself and I thought I might share it with you.

The idea actually first started in 1784. Thank you Benjamin Franklin! Funny, the idea really started as kind of a joke after noticing the amount of oil that was used by his lamps at certain times of the year. It looks like conservation and thrift aren't new ideas at all.

As a serious idea it was in 1907 that William Willett wrote Waste of Daylight where he noted that,  "Everyone appreciates the long, light evenings. Everyone laments their shortage as Autumn approaches; and everyone has given utterance to regret that the clear, bright light of an early morning during Spring and Summer months is so seldom seen or used."

While Daylight Savings Time was adopted in other countries as early as 1916 and 1917, the United States adopted it in 1918 as 'An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States' but was repealed in 1919 because of unpopularity. It was revisited again and again in the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and again with The Energy Policy Act of 2005 to help with energy savings.

Today, about 70 countries observe Daylight Savings Time.

For more information, history, and insight you can go see Daylight Savings Time on the web.