who came up w/ the idea of daylight savings?
341404
It is sometimes suggested that Ben Franklin was the first to suggest daylight savings in a letter to the Journal of Paris. However he was putting it forward humorously.\n\nt was first seriously proposed by William Willett in the "Waste of Daylight", published in 1907, but he was unable to get the British government to adopt it despite considerable lobbying. The German government introduced it during 1916 to increase productivity in World War I with the British following soon after.
470281
The History of Analog Clocks (SEE FIRST LINK BELOW) provides an explanation of the origin of the 24-hour day. The system dates back 4,000 years, to ancient Egypt and Babylon. \n\nEgyptian astronomers divided the night hours into 12 distinct sets of star patterns, which emerged over the horizon at roughly hour-long intervals. They divided the day into 12 hours to match, and because they lived near the equator, the days and nights were of roughly equal length throughout the year. \n\nThroughout the rest of the world, the 12 "hours" of the day and night were flexible depending upon the season. It wasn't until the 13th century A.D. that an Arab scientist named Abul-Hassan suggested the idea of clearly defined hours. \n\nIt's also worth noting that the number 12 is special in many cultures. For example, Egyptians counted in base 12. Dividing the day into two sets of 12 was a simple and elegant way of condensing the annual calendar into a day. \n\n*Repost*
221957
It has always seemed odd to me to have daylight savings time in the summer when the days are already naturally longer.  It is logical to me to at least try using it in the winter or not at all.
429409
Daylight savings doesn't save daylight . . . it tries to better align the office owrker schedule with the rising and setting of the sun. \n\nIn spring the sun rises earlier, so we set our clock forward (add an hour or so) . . . this makes it seem like the sun rises later (if the sun was rising at 6AM now it rises at 7AM) and more importantly makes it seem to set later (if it was setting at 6PM now it sets at 7PM).\n\nSo what? Right? The point of this is that you don't need to turn on your lights at 6PM when the sun goes down. Now you turn them on at 7PM. So that hour of daylight at 6PM when you were sleeping was being "wasted" before, and now, it's being utilized so you don't have to turn your lights on so early in the evening. Daylight savings time saves tens of millions in electrivity in the USA alone each year. In the fall we do the opposite (set the clock back an hour) for the  opposite reason as sunrise gets later and later. This way we don't have to turn on the lights as early in the morning when we get up.\n\nOriginally it was so that farmers that wake up with the sun and office workers that always wake up at the same time could align their schedules as the sunrise changed between winter and summer.
271680
History of Daylight Saving in NSW\nDaylight saving operated nationally during World War I from 1 January 1917 to 25 March 1917 and during World War II for three summers, beginning on 1 January 1942. \n\nDaylight saving was introduced again in this State on 31 October 1971 after the Standard Time Act 1971 was passed by the New South Wales Parliament. \n\nA referendum held on 1 May 1976 submitted a proposal that daylight saving be adopted on a permanent basis. The ballot paper stated: \n\nAt present there is a period commonly called "daylight saving" by which time is advanced by one hour for the period commencing on the last Sunday in October in each year and ending on the first Sunday in March in the following year.
634373
I think he meant to ask why a day is divided into 24 and not 36 or 48.  The actual time would be the same but there would be short intervals.  A half hour would end up being an hour.  Why divide a circle into 360 or an hour into 60.  \n\nHour :- "a traditional unit of time, equal to 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds, or 1/24 day. The custom of dividing the daylight into 12 hours goes back at least as far as the Babylonians, who liked to divide units by 12 because groups of 12 are easily divided into halves, thirds, or fourths. Originally an hour was 1/12 of the time between sunrise and sunset, so summer hours were longer than winter hours. Later, when people wanted to express times at night, it was natural to divide the night into 12 hours as well, making 24 hours in the day. Only after the invention of mechanical clocks, around 1300, did hours became equal intervals marked by clocks. The word comes from an ancient Greek word hora which originally meant a season, especially a religious season, and hence a "defined" period of time. In the Christian church hora came to mean one of the services held at seven specific times during the day, thus establishing the word as marking subdivisions of the day." \n\n\nhttp://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58460.html
454613
I know how you are feeling. Here in Indiana, it's the first time in many years that we used Daylight Savings Time. Until yesterday, parts of Indiana and Arizona were exempt from using DST. Since our govenor signed a new law, we are now on track with everyone else. I had to set all of our watches and clockes ahead 1 hour for the first time.
281596
Yes it would be the same.\n\nDaylight saving time is used between summer and winter and not where they exist.\n\nSince the durations of day are very different in Summer and winter, it is better to have long working days in summer.\n\nThis is the reason why some countries don't follow it. Those at equator (similar suntimes in winter and summer) don;t follow and those away from equator(different suntimes in winter and summer) follow daylight saving time.
225956
His definition is a little odd, and does not seem to follow from his example (which is more about motion than position on the earth).  Technically, his motion relative to stationary students would make time pass at a different rate according to all that Einstein stuff (though there's no way he could ever notice the tiny difference).  But that would be true without any reference to the earth and the sun.  Is he trying to make a different point -- that his days would be longer because the sun would set later for him because he is walking toward the west where the sun sets?  If so, he's right that his days (defined as revolving around the Earth's axis) would be longer, but that would not mean time was moving at a different speed for him; it would only mean that the sun would set a little later from his visual perspective -- just like you can gain or lose hours when you cross time zones in an airplane; you reset your watch, but that has nothing to do with the passage of time.  Unless you are defining time only by calendars and clocks and common agreement.
44535
mankind didn't "invent" the system of time, but just rather makes use of it. time is something that we "notice" as the laws of thermodynamics occur in the universe. everything is cooling down and so time progresses... sort of. thats another subject (time doesnt really exist)...\n"standard time" on the other hand is something that we began to use to - believe it or not - to keep up with train schedules. it is merely standardized for many regions to use and not confuse anyone. first thought of by Dr. William Wollaston (1766-1828) is was adopted by the The Great Western Railway in November 1840 - GMT London time was born! standard time was instituted in the US by the railroads on Nov. 18, 1883 (about the same time as the electric safety elevator)\nthe idea of daylight savings time - used to make better use of the daylight - was conceived by Benjamin Franklin while he was in Paris in 1784. \nUTC is Coordinated Universal Time and helps keep everyone on schedule.\nas for waaaaay back in history, we just kept noticing people getting older and dying and stories getting handed down the line. many different calendars were made by the watching stars farther back than most "written" records go, but the modern calendar is gregorian and centers around the birth of Christ - but is about 4 to 6 years off (on the late end).
251858
I'm confused by the question.  If you mean, did some act of congress do away with daylight savings time, then no.  Daylight savings time is still alive and well and used over large portions of the world.  In the US, the only states that don't use it are Arizona and Indiana, though Indiana is set to start using it, I hear.
138979
almost all of the world does.\nthe daylight savings time originated from Woodrow \nwilson.  he wast walking down the street and noticed that many people were using a tremendous amount of light after dark.  this was during wwi, the war to end all wars.  he included in his 14 point speech, which the 14th point is the point that made him most famous.  it outlined the league of nations, the predecessor to the united nations.
406985
Its to make more evening time ( time before lights on ) available to office workers. In UK they even had double-DST during wwII
111705
In 1577, Jost Burgi invented the minute hand. Burgi's invention was part of a clock made for Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate clock for his stargazing.\n\nPendulum\nIn 1656, the pendulum was invented by Christian Huygens, making clocks more accurate.\n\nWrist Watch\nIn 1504, the first portable (but not very accurate) timepiece was invented in Nuremberg, Germany by Peter Henlein.The first reported person to actually wear a watch on the wrist was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). With a piece of string, he attached his pocket watch to his wrist.\n\nQuartz\nAccording to the Smithsonian "In 1927, Canadian-born Warren Marrison, a telecommunications engineer, was searching for reliable frequency standards at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Building on earlier work in piezoelectricity, he developed a very large, highly accurate clock based on the regular vibrations of a quartz crystal in an electrical circuit" - the first quartz clock.\n\nOrigins of "Clock"\nThe word 'clock' comes from the French word "cloche" meaning bell. The Latin for bell is glocio, the Saxon is clugga and the German is glocke.\n\nStandard Time\nSir Sanford Fleming invented standard time in 1878.\nAlarm Clocks\nAn early prototype of the alarm clock was invented by the Greeks around 250 BC. The Greeks built a water clock where the raising waters would both keep time and eventually hit a mechanical bird that triggered an alarming whistle.\n\nThe first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. However, the ringing bell alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented (#183,725) by Seth E Thomas.\n\nSelf-winding Watch\nSwiss John Harwood invented the self-winding watch in 1923.\n\nClock Companies\nIn 1908, the Westclox Clock Company is issued a patent for the Big Ben alarm clock. The outstanding feature on this clock is the bell-back, which completely envelops the inner case back and is an integral part of the case. The bell-back provides a loud alarm.\n\nThe Warren Clock Company was formed in 1912 by Mr. Henry Warren as President. The company started by producing a new type of clock run by batteries, prior to that, clocks were either wound or run by weights.
218064
During WWI to save on electricity and the fuel to produce it dayligh saving time was introduced.  DST reduced the need for artificail light late in the working day and it was allowed to lapse at the end of the war.  DST reappeared in WWII and soon after the way people liked the fact of the longer daylight hours in the summer so it stuck, though not everwhere has daylight savings and some places have it longer then others
808591
"You might ask, isn't the changing of the clocks a federal law? The answer is that although Daylight Saving Time was established by federal law in 1986, a state or area may choose not to observe it. Other areas in the U.S. that don't observe Daylight Saving Time are Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands. In Arizona, we just don't need another hour of sunlight!"
275833
n 1577, Jost Burgi invented the minute hand. Burgi's invention was part of a clock made for Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate clock for his stargazing.\n\nPendulum\nIn 1656, the pendulum was invented by Christian Huygens, making clocks more accurate.\n\nWrist Watch\nIn 1504, the first portable (but not very accurate) timepiece was invented in Nuremberg, Germany by Peter Henlein.The first reported person to actually wear a watch on the wrist was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). With a piece of string, he attached his pocket watch to his wrist.\n\nQuartz\nAccording to the Smithsonian "In 1927, Canadian-born Warren Marrison, a telecommunications engineer, was searching for reliable frequency standards at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Building on earlier work in piezoelectricity, he developed a very large, highly accurate clock based on the regular vibrations of a quartz crystal in an electrical circuit" - the first quartz clock.\n\nOrigins of "Clock"\nThe word 'clock' comes from the French word "cloche" meaning bell. The Latin for bell is glocio, the Saxon is clugga and the German is glocke.\n\nStandard Time\nSir Sanford Fleming invented standard time in 1878.\nAlarm Clocks\nAn early prototype of the alarm clock was invented by the Greeks around 250 BC. The Greeks built a water clock where the raising waters would both keep time and eventually hit a mechanical bird that triggered an alarming whistle.\n\nThe first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. However, the ringing bell alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented (#183,725) by Seth E Thomas.\n\nSelf-winding Watch\nSwiss John Harwood invented the self-winding watch in 1923.\n\nClock Companies\nIn 1908, the Westclox Clock Company is issued a patent for the Big Ben alarm clock. The outstanding feature on this clock is the bell-back, which completely envelops the inner case back and is an integral part of the case. The bell-back provides a loud alarm.\n\nThe Warren Clock Company was formed in 1912 by Mr. Henry Warren as President. The company started by producing a new type of clock run by batteries, prior to that, clocks were either wound or run by weights.