It’s time to “spring forward” as daylight saving time begins Sunday. Technically, it ends at 2am Sunday morning, so be sure to set your clock an hour ahead Saturday night before going to bed.
On Sunday, March 11th, sunrise will be at 7:03am and sunset at 6:51pm.
How Daylight Saving Time Came to Be
An Englishman by the name William Willet led the first campaign to implement daylight saving time.
While on an early-morning horseback ride around the desolate outskirts of London in 1905, Willett had an epiphany that the United Kingdom should move its clocks forward by 80 minutes between April and October so that more people could enjoy the plentiful sunlight. The Englishman published the 1907 brochure “The Waste of Daylight” and spent much of his personal fortune evangelizing with missionary zeal for the adoption of “summer time.” Year after year, however, the British Parliament stymied the measure, and Willett died in 1915 at age 58 without ever seeing his idea come to fruition.
And yes, despite most people calling it “daylight savings time;” it’s technically called “daylight saving time” (singular not plural) because the word “saving” acts as part of an adjective rather than a verb. (Source)
Today, many people debate the need to “spring forward” and “fall back” every year. In fact, just this week, the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would allow Florida to remain on Daylight Saving Time year round was approved by the state Senate 33-2. This means Florida would “spring forward” today but not “fall back” in November. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott for approval. If he signs the bill, Congress would need to amend existing federal law to allow the change, reports the Associated Press.
