Daylight Savings is Coming to an End. Do You Know Why?

It’s that magical time of the year again! The leaves have changed, there’s a cool breeze in the air, you can smell the fresh baked pies in the oven, and best of all, daylight savings is coming to an end. Here in Cranston, RI, we do observe Daylight Savings, so make sure you set your clocks in your apartment back an hour this November 4th. There’s always those couple days a year where our schedules get thrown off from the change, so make sure you don’t forget this year. We all love that extra hour of sleep, but have you ever wondered why daylight savings occurs? It might not be what you think!

You’ve probably heard that Daylight Savings policy was initiated in an attempt to save more daylight for farming, but that’s actually not the case. The first Daylight Savings began in Germany on May 1, 1916 as an attempt to save energy during World War I. It was a mental trick to encourage soldiers to have more energy. If the clocks said that it was earlier, mentally your body will tell you that you shouldn’t be tired, so you’re not.

A few years later, the same policy was put into place here in the United States. And while the extra time definitely helped farmers, the Chamber of Commerce was the main supporter of the concept. The idea was that if it was still light when people got home from work, they would be more likely to go out and spend money before they went to bed, and it worked! Shopping malls saw their sales skyrocket as people were more encouraged to go out after work. Additionally, golf ball and baseball sales also shot up as people were looking for more things to do with their newfound recreational time in the light.

If you want some more information on the history of Daylight Savings Time, check out this super insightful article from Time. Thanks for taking the time to read the Independence Place Blog this month. We appreciate you choosing us as your home.