Don’t forget that today (Sunday March 8) is Daylight Savings….the day we move our clocks forward one hour in order to make better use of the natural daylight by setting your clock forward one hour during the summer months, and back one hour again in the fall. Here are a few fun facts about Daylight Savings you may not have known:
• Spring daylight saving time in the northern hemisphere is between March and April and ends between September and November as the countries return to Standard Time.
• US inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin first proposed the concept of DST in 1784, but modern Daylight Saving Time first saw the light of day, in 1895 when an entomologist from New Zealand, George Vernon Hudson, presented a proposal for a two-hour daylight saving shift. Germany was the first country to implement DST on April 30, 1916 when the clocks were set forward at 11 pm (23:00).
• Today clocks are almost always set one hour back or ahead, but throughout history there have been several variations, like half adjustment (30 minutes) or double adjustment (two hours), and adjustments of 20 and 40 minutes have also been used. A two-hour adjustment was used in several countries during the 1940s and elsewhere at times.
• As a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, many parts of the United States observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November. The Act does not alter the rights of the states and territories that choose not to observe daylight saving time. Arizona is one of the states in the United States that are exempt from Daylight Saving Time.
• Last fun fact: Did you know that daylight savings time could mean savings on window screens for you? To celebrate daylight savings, we decided that we’d make you an offer you couldn’t refuse: 10% off any window insect screen or sliding patio screen door (KD Doors) purchase of 100 sqft or more at once before March 31st, 2015. Can’t be combined with any other offer. Excludes sun screens, screen doors, and security doors. Good for only new orders and you must mention this ad at time of purchase. Prior or existing orders not eligible.