Ahhh! It's Time To Fall Back!
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A little worn out after all the Halloween festivities? Then you are in luck because this weekend, it's time to 'Fall Back,' which means that at 2 am on Sunday, November 3rd, most Americans will add an extra hour to their day by moving the clocks back. This age-old tradition that goes all the way back to World War One is observed in other parts of the world too - However, the dates differ, with most changing their clocks about a month earlier.
'Fall Back' is simply the reversal of Daylight Saving Time or Spring Forward, which occurs on the second Sunday of March and entails moving the clocks an hour ahead. This odd ritual was first suggested by Sir Benjamin Franklin in 1784 as a way to maximize the number of light hours during spring and summer.
But it was not considered seriously until 1907 when British resident William Willet presented time change as a way to save energy. It took another nine years before it became a law in Britain. The United States followed two years later but only enacted it for a short period of time as a mechanism to provide World War One soldiers with more daylight. The law was repealed at the end of the war, only to be re-instated for another three years from 1942-1945, during World War Two.
It took another 21 years before 'Daylight Saving Time' became a permanent fixture on the American calendar. This time the justification was that it would help conserve energy and give farmers an extra daylight hour to transport fresh produce to the market. However, Hawaii and some cities of Arizona decided it was unnecessary and opted out.
Since then, the dates the clocks are changed have been altered several times. In 1986, former President Ronald Reagan shifted 'Spring Forward' from the last weekend of April to the first weekend so that Americans could begin enjoying the longer days sooner. In 2005, former President George W. Bush not only moved it up to the second Sunday of March but also extended the 'Fall Back' date out an extra week, to the first weekend of November.
While it was all done under the pretense of saving energy and helping farmers, it has effectively cut down the long, dark, and dreary months of winter that we are about to experience by almost five weeks - Who can complain about that?
Resources:school.studentnews.com,news.yahoo.com
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146 Comments
- martinrpandaabout 11 yearsinteresting
divya123001about 11 yearsso do i!!!!!
tinkaisawesomeabout 11 yearsnow its bright in the morning at 5:00am and its dark at 5:00pm
kenneth_hillabout 11 yearsi love reading- ilovepieabout 11 yearswow, for th ecritical thinking challenge, I think people think this because it is too complicated, having to change the time often, even if it is just once every year! But I disagree because I mean, I would like to see more daylight given to soldiers if we ever have a word war 3, and farmers would like to see the having more crops to sell.
- Hello!about 11 yearsWow, this article is SO cool, I mean, So were the pictures. Funny
dylaniscoolabout 11 yearsreally cool- bron the wombatabout 11 yearsshould i b worried theres a rhino in my house
eagles_17about 11 yearswe should keep track of time- flash123456about 11 yearsI think it shouldn't be repealed because people need an extra hour of rest if they've been working really hard like if you stay up all night doing something