Although it has been a few weeks since we set our clocks back for Daylight Savings Time, the shortening daylight has us wondering once again... What exactly is Daylight Savings Time? Why do we do it?
According to timeanddate.com, Daylight Savings Time (or DST, as the cool kids call it) is intended to make better use of daylight and save energy. The web site details the history of DST, going the whole way back to ancient civilizations. (Who knew?)
Modern DST has only been practiced for about 100 years, and despite a few bumps in the road, it is now practiced in over 70 countries.
Webexhibits.org also has a series of pages dedicated to learning about DST. Did you know, for example, about the "Daylight Saving Donut"? No, it's not a special breakfast treat you get to eat when we change the clocks. According to webexhibits.org, the donut exists in Arizona due to different observation of DST:
In the U.S., Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time, but the Navajo Nation (parts of which are in three states) does. However, the Hopi Reservation, which is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation, doesn’t observe DST. In effect, there is a donut-shaped area of Arizona that does observe DST, but the “hole” in the center does not.
What other interesting things do you know about DST? What did you learn from the site? Do you like DST? Let us know in the comments!
