Who Thought of Daylight Saving Time?
We have Benjamin Franklin to thank for coming up with the idea of Daylight Saving Time though. Don’t be too hard on him, though; he was just feeling whimsical one day and wrote a satirical piece, making fun of Parisians for burning through so many candles. He also expressed mock amazement that the sun always rose at 6AM, well before he usually got up himself. Benjamin Franklin proposed one ludicrous idea after another to help Paris conserve candles, including changing the clocks, waking people up at dawn by firing cannons, and posting guards outside of shops to prevent people from buying candles. Benjamin Franklin may have been the first to come up with the idea of Daylight Saving Time, but he didn’t take it seriously! I’ve also heard that Ben Franklin liked to sleep late. And he’s the one credited for that “early to bed, early to rise” quote!
