4 Things You Didn’t Know About Daylight Saving Time

Twice a year we go through the process of changing our clocks. Some people love the idea and others just see it as an annoying task. Have you ever wondered why exactly we do this practice? Or what the history behind the time-change measure is?

Daylight saving time 2023 in South Dakota will end at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 5. At this time, we will "fall back" and turn the clocks back one hour giving us an extra hour of sleep.

Here are 4 things you may not know about daylight saving time:

1. It's 'daylight saving time,' not 'daylight savings time'. This is just a fun little fact. Most people add an 's' to the end of 'savings,' making it plural. It is actually not pronounced this way, but rather supposed to be just 'saving.'

2. Germany was the first country to use it. In 1916, Germany decided to enact the daylight saving time idea. It was originally used as a way to conserve electricity. Shortly after, the United Kingdom decided to join in and they instituted "summer time."

3. The U.S. did not start 'Daylight Saving Time' as a way to benefit farmers. Many people believe that when the time change in the U.S. began, it was a way to provide more sunlight for farmers to work in the fields.

Interestingly enough, when the measure began in 1918, farmers were opposed to the idea of switching the time. The actual time was not a way to dictate when farmers should or should not work. They simply just referred to the patterns of sunlight, so changing the physical time on a clock was just a nuisance.

4. Not everyone in the U.S. follows daylight saving time. There are two states in America that do not recognize the time change: Hawaii and Arizona. (this is with exception of the Navajo Nation, who does recognize it) The U.S. territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands also choose not to follow daylight saving. Around the globe, places near the equator do not recognize it as much either, as they have little variation in daylight from season to season. Altogether, about 70 countries observe the daylight saving time change. More on Daylight Saving Time here.

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source: History.com

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