DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME: WORDS OF
WISDOM FROM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Founding Father Plays With Father Time
PHILADELPHIA, October 20, 2005 - When switching
the clock back from Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, October 30
(2:00 a.m.), thank Benjamin Franklin for the extra hour. He'll
appreciate the good wishes, especially since his 300th birthday is
coming up on January 17, 2006.
Ben at Franklin Court
Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC
"The man who wrote, "Lost Time is never found again" and "Time
is an herb that cures all Diseases" (both from Poor Richard’s
Almanack, 1748) suggested the daylight savings time idea (not the
term) in a Paris journal in 1784. His essay, entitled "An
Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light," suggested
Parisians start their day earlier in the sunlight and use fewer
candles at night. It was a tongue-in-cheek commentary, but one with
the germ of a great idea.
Franklin's ideas will be celebrated in Philadelphia throughout
his birthday year. The centerpiece is the traveling exhibition,
Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, premiering
at the National Constitution Center in
Philadelphia, December 15, 2005 through April 30, 2006. Plans in
Franklin's adopted hometown also include Ben-themed cultural
programs, tours, restaurant menus and hotel packages.
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Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia is a year-long
celebration of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday, coordinated and
marketed by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, the Greater
Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the National
Constitution Center and CBS 3. Festivities will run from fall 2005
through 2006 and will focus on the world premiere of the
international traveling exhibition, Benjamin Franklin: In
Search of a Better World at the National Constitution Center.
The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, a non-profit organization, is
supported by a lead grant of $4 million from The Pew Charitable
Trusts and established to reaffirm Franklin's enduring legacy in
his 300th birthday year. The Tercentenary was founded in 2000 by
the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute, the
Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and
the University of Pennsylvania. For more information about the
exhibition, related programs and traveling to Philadelphia, visit
www.gophila.com/ben.
Note to Editors: For photos of Greater
Philadelphia, visit our Photo
Gallery.
CONTACT:
Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com