Well it's that time of year again to "Spring Forward". Those clocks flip forward by one hour leaving us with more daylight during the evening hours which is a signal that warmer temperatures and the growing season are near.
The first misconception of it all is if is called "Daylight Saving Time" or "Daylight Savings Time." The correct answer is "Daylight Saving Time" since you are saving time not savings it.. Germany was the first country to implement "Daylight Saving Time" back in the early 1900s (April 30, 1916) to conserve energy. The United States followed shortly after on March 31, 1918 during the World War I era. This was not only a wartime measure for the United Sates but also an implementation for gaining productivity during the work day in producing services for the military at the height of the war.
Not every state in the United States practices "Daylight Saving Time." Arizona and Hawaii currently are the only two states in the country that do not implement the change. Florida could also be added to this as more states look to "lock the clock" and do away with the change based upon technological advances over the past few years.
The real reason for "Daylight Saving Time" was for old time farmers to have a bit more light to harvest in the fields or plant new crops for the season ahead. Either way the change in time an hour forward or an hour back adjust for the seasonal shifts between hot and cold times of the year. It gives us some to look forwards to such as Winter or Spring but does have the disadvantages as well when it comes to our sleep cycles. The 100 year question remains though to if we should keep "Daylight Saving Time" or not? We will leave that for you too interpret. Just know Spring is coming in fast and as soon as you know it we will all be back in the great outdoors enjoying one of those mild Maryland nights.
