What didn’t he think of, that brilliant and rascally Ben Franklin?

Electricity. Stoves. The glass harp. Lending libraries.

You name it, Ben thought of it – well, maybe not Google. And now, I find, Ben was the first person known to have conceived of Daylight Saving Time. I suppose he was in a break between diplomacy and dinner with the ladies, when, in 1784, he thought of saving daylight.

(Please note, it’s “saving” not “savings” like certain banks.)

Franklin’s idea was taken up by an Englishman early in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until early in the 20th century that another Englishman, William Willett, campaigned for the concept. His idea was to move the clock ahead 20 minutes on each of four Sundays in April and reverse the process in October. That was confusing.

So-called summer time was instituted finally throughout Europe and the British Isles in 1916. The United States followed suit in 1918. But nobody much liked Daylight Saving Time and a congressional override of President Woodrow Wilson’s veto brought it to a halt the very next year.

To save or not to save daylight was left to individual communities for several decades. Many shared Warren Harding’s sentiment: If people want more daylight they should just wake up an hour earlier.

DST was mandated by FDR during World War II because lighter later meant significant fuel savings. But it was back to local option and massive scheduling snafus from 1945 to 1966 and the Uniform Time Act.

Saving daylight is a bogus, but attractive idea, especially in this near-but-not springtime. This past Saturday felt like the first day of spring – talk of bogus – and how we enjoyed it: warm sun, snow and ice sliding with grand thumps from the roof. Messy underfoot but lovely for walking all the same.

The crows are back. Spring is coming, a friend declared a week or so ago. Daylight Saving Time, another harbinger, is also back.

Linda Farr Macgregor lives in Rumford. She is a freelance writer. Contact her at: [email protected].