“Daylight Saving Time: Why Does It Exist?” i

Spring forward, fall back. But, why? The reason the United States and many other countries shift to daylight saving time is contentious and confusing. The general concept is to move an hour of sunlight from the early morning, when many would sleep through it, to the evening, when you could most likely do more with the light. “For most people, an extra hour of daylight in the evening after work or after school is much more usable than the hour of daylight in the morning,” said David Prerau, the author of “Seize the Daylight.” Extra daylight means extra time to spend money. “Americans really do leave their homes when there is more sunlight at the end of the day,” said Michael Downing. The idea was originally rooted in saving candle wax, not electricity. Historians have traced the notion back to Benjamin Franklin, who realized he was sleeping through some daylight hours while visiting Paris in the 18th century. He suggested French officials shoot cannons at sunrise to jolt people out of bed, optimizing the amount of hours they spent awake when it’s light out. That way, they could cut down on using candles to light their homes while awake. The idea has always faced detractors and debate. Several states, including California and Rhode Island, are considering abolishing the practice while Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that originally held out.

In Other News  A side of Lincoln you may not have seen portraits/index.html portraits/index.html portraits/index.html  Malia and Sasha Obama are blossoming into two beautiful young women! The daughters of Barack and Michelle Obama looked gorgeous on Thursday night when they attended their very first state dinner at the White House. The sisters, who both stunned in glamorous dresses, flashed sweet smiles as they chatted with people at their tables during the lavish event, and even got a chance to spend some alone time with Ryan Reynolds. Malia, who is morphing into her mom's twin, was seated next to former Grey's Anatomy star Sandra Oh. President Obama couldn't help but gush about his daughters during his opening remarks, saying, "When I was first elected to this office, Malia was just 10 and Sasha was 7. And they grow up too fast. Now Malia is going off to college.