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Tag: Benjamin Franklin

  • Daylight Saving Time Fall Forward Whose Idea was It?

    Daylight saving time ends on this upcoming Sunday November 3rd at 2 a.m. It only takes a few seconds to set personal clocks back to anticipate the time change. Many people loath when the time changes due to the problems it causes during the following work week. There is always that one person in the office or within a personal circle of friends who will be late to work or an upcoming social event because the simply forgot to adjust their time.

    Throughout history, several civilizations have recorded adjustments in their schedule to be in tune with the sun during the day. Benjamin Franklin while traveling in Paris decided to expound upon the idea of getting more time during the day. He wrote an essay entitled, “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” that discussed saving on candle use by getting up earlier and using the sunlight. Some people credit Franklin with the discovery and others lean towards a New Zealand astronomer and entomologist named George Vernon Hudson. He wrote a paper about moving time forward two hours in October and back two hours in March. This paper was submitted to the Wellington Philosophical Society, even though he did more research and another article nothing was ever enacted upon.

    William Willetts idea of moving time forward during the summer by twenty minutes in April on Sunday, and reversing the time in September was seen as important by Robert Pierce. Pierce persuaded the House of Commons through a new bill that was not approved or turned into a statute before his death. Daylight saving time was used heavily during both WWI and WWII to save on costs for fuel and lighting. A great deal of confusion lasted throughout the years for service industries that operated on tight schedules. Trains and media outlets were not able to follow the time changes well. Modern daylight savings time was made into law through the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

    This gave uniformity to the times changed, but states still have the opportunity to not participate. People who live in Arizona do not have to worry about setting their clocks back, due to it not being used within the state.

     


    Image via Thinkstockphoto

  • New $100 Bill, Counterfeit-Proof?

    Are you ready to get your hands on the new $100 bill? If so, you’re not alone. The $100 bill is the second most common bill only behind the $1 bill. So, it should come as no surprise that the public is anxiously waiting for the release of the newly upgraded $100 bill.

    The new $100 bills were originally intended for a 2011 release; however, complications with the printing led to a delayed release date. The bills will be released on October 8, 2013. Initial complications stemmed from the bills creasing, which led to blank spaces.

    Additional time was required due to the intricate process needed to create each bill where the blue security 3-D ribbon had to be sewed into the fabric of the bill instead of just stamped on the exterior. The extra efforts for this special design will help fight the potential for counterfeit.

    Dennis Forgue, who is a currency expert based out of Chicago, sounded optimistic about the capability of the bills limiting counterfeit.

    “That’s something that’s not going to be able to be reproduced on a photocopy machine, that’s for sure, or even on the computer,” Dennis Forgue said.

    The Associate Director of the Federal Reserve, Michael J. Lambert, mirrored the sentiments of Dennis Forgue when speaking about the decreased likelihood of counterfeit. “It only takes a few seconds for people, if they know what they’re looking for to know what they’re looking at is genuine,” Michael J. Lambert said.

    The following video depicts the detailed changes to the recent $100 bill upgrade.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9spCFYYXUQ

    Multiple changes will be noticed on the bill including: the 3-D security ribbon with rotating “bell” and “100’s”, color-changing ink from copper to green when the bill is moved, Benjamin Franklin will no longer be encased in a dark oval, the picture of an an ink well will now be on the front, and a different view of Independence Hall will be placed on the back of the bill.

    Have the extra efforts to fight counterfeit been necessary? Many think so.

    “I would say it’s absolutely worthwhile to do whatever it takes to make sure that we have the best currency that we can,” Benjamin Mazzotta, a cost currency expert said.

    [Image Via Federal Reserve]