50: Hello, Sunshine: Why We Have Daylight Saving Time (Part 1)

“OMG, the sun is up! Shouldn’t you be awake, doing productive things?” … that’s essentially what Benjamin Franklin shouted when he advocated to change the hours of human activity to take advantage of daylight.

That idea later evolved into Daylight Saving Time. Since its inception, Daylight Saving Time has had its fans and critics. In this series, Norm refers to the critics as Sun Cynics. The fans? Sun Sluts. Where will you land?

Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:
Byrne, Kerry. “Meet the American Who Created Time Zones, Charles F. Dowd, Schoolmaster Set Clock for Mankind.” Fox News, December 17, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/meet-american-created-time-zones-charles-f-dowd-schoolmaster-managed-clock-mankind.
“Full Text - Daylight Saving Time - William Willett’s Pamphlet,” n.d. https://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/willett.html.
Preprau, David. Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. Basic Books, 2006.
“The Builder Who Changed How the World Keeps Time,” March 11, 2016. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160310-the-builder-who-changed-how-the-world-keeps-time.
“Time Balls: The Rise and Fall of a Timekeeping Icon.” September 19, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-58559814.
“What Is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - and Why Does It Matter? | Royal Museums Greenwich,” n.d. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/greenwich-mean-time-gmt.

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