Facts About Daylight Saving Time (DST)

These days, Daylight Saving Time, or DST, is very controversial. Adopted around the world, it requires clocks be set ahead in the spring, and then set back in the fall. The measure is controversial for a few reasons. For one, it can be confusing and many people end up setting their clocks back when they should go ahead, and vice versa. It can also be easy to miss the day when DST takes effect, leaving you an hour behind or ahead of everyone else. But mostly it’s just annoying, especially in the spring when DST takes effect and cuts an hour from everyone’s weekend.

But why was Daylight Saving Time originally introduced? And when did that happen? And how has the world reacted to it over time? Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about DST.

1. Started as a Joke



2. One of the Key Backers was an Entomologist



3. War Gave it Life



4. The Energy Crisis Brought DST to USA



5. It May Not Actually Save Energy



6. It Could be Dangerous to our Health



7. Somehow, it Prevents Crime



8. Not Everyone Uses It



9. Kicks off in the Early Morning



10. Candy Companies Pushed it Back



11. People Fought to Prevent it

There was great opposition to Daylight Saving Time when it was first implemented during the First World War. Even though many people were told it would help boost productivity and help the Allies keep pace with Germany, which was first to implement DST in 1916, they were concerned it could introduce as many problems as it solved.

For example, many farmers worried that Daylight Saving Time would actually shorten their day and limit their productivity, as it often had them getting up in the dark and going to bed in the dark. This problem also meant that some people found they were actually using more fuel — which for many people would be coal at this time — than they were before DST came to pass. In the end, a lot of people were frustrated with DST, as it seemed to make their lives harder rather than easier.

12. It Caused Headaches at Border Crossings

In North America, the Canada-U.S. border is the site of massive transnational trade between a superpower and its highly industrialized northern neighbor. Both countries depend on one another for resources they needed to expand and support a growing population. When Daylight Saving Time was implemented during the Great War, Canada depended on American imports to help its fight against Germany before America entered the war in April 1917.

Given this, you can understand how Canada’s implementation of DST in 1916 and early 1917, and America’s refusal to follow the measure, caused serious headaches at many parts of the border. Thanks to DST, people crossing the border either gained or lost an hour the second they crossed the boundary, resulting in all sorts of major headaches that negatively affected cross-border trade. Even to this day, the somewhat random support for DST means that some communities are one hour ahead of their neighbors just across the international boundary.

Emily Lockhart
