Here Comes the Sun

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when trees start to get their buds, flowers start to pop up out of no where, and insects literally come out of the wood works. This is also the time of year when I begin to lose my mind.

Up until this point in the winter, I at least have the sun to help me wake up in the mornings. But now, now I have to try to rise without the sun shining…and I’m not very good at that. So who do we have to blame for this lack of sun in the morning? Well, a few people actually.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with proposing something similar to Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but nothing ever came from it. George Vernon Hudson was an English entomologist who worked shift work and therefore, in 1895, proposed a two hour shift in time during the warmer months so people could take advantage of extra light in the evenings. Hudson’s proposal was introduced to the House Of Commons in a bill in 1908, but was not passed. Germany and it’s allies first implemented Daylight Saving Time in 1916 as a way to conserve coal. After the U.S. entered the war in 1917, politicians decided it seemed like a good idea, and DST was passed in 1918.

So now that we’ve had a little history lesson, what have we learned? What I’ve learned is that Daylight Saving Time is an antiquated ritual, not unlike the electoral college, which has good points, but mainly needs to just be done away with. I guess until that happens I’ll just have to be happy with more light at night, and start having my coffee automatically brew in the morning.