Resetting a Clock Myth

Here at the Harrison House, our Curator Cat, Frankie, knows when it’s time to take a break—regardless of what the clock may say!

But for the rest of us, dealing with the end of Daylight Saving Time can be tough. Sure, the extra hour of sleep when we “fell back” over the weekend was nice, but the early darkness each evening takes its toll!

And did you know? There’s a myth about Daylight Saving Time. If asked, many of us think it was created to aid farmers, giving them more hours of daylight for completing their harvests. But that’s actually not true! Though it seems just historic enough to be possible, the actuality is that DST is a relatively modern invention. It first began in Germany in the early 1900s as a way to conserve fuel, by running trains and businesses in natural light as much as possible. (Some will say that this is based on an idea from Benjamin Franklin a century earlier—another history-esque myth? It’s hard to know for sure!)

These days, according to studies, DST doesn’t actually make us any more energy efficient in the long run. Many people advocate for getting rid of it, in fact. How about you—do you mind resetting the clock twice a year?