Spring Has Sprung – Fun Facts!

It’s the third full week of March here at The Storage Inn of Egg Harbor Township, NJ; it’s bright and sunny, but rain, wind, and a chance of snow is in the forecast! and on the first day of Spring no less!

Storage customers continue to shuttle in and out, visiting their storage rental units, and occasionally the office store for storage packing supplies or to rent a moving truck. Regardless of the weather, Spring will be here this week, so here are some Spring Fun Facts from the staff here at The Storage Inn.

Some Fun Facts to “spring” on your friends

• According to a Facebook study, couples are most likely to break up in the spring and two weeks before Christmas. The lowest breakup time was Christmas Day and from August through October.

• On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.

• Spring almost always arrives on March 20 or 21, but sometimes on the 19th. The reason the equinoxes and solstices don’t always come on the same day is that Earth doesn’t circle the sun in exactly 365 days.

• The first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere is the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere.

• If Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the sun rather than on a 23.4º tilt, there would be no variation in day lengths and no variation in seasons.

• Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

• The first spring flowers are typically lilacs, irises, lilies, tulips, daffodils, and dandelions.

• The myth that it is possible to balance an egg on its end on the spring equinox is just that: a myth. Trying to balance an oval-shaped object on its end is no easier on the spring equinox than on any other day.

• For the Japanese, the opening of the cherry blossom, Japan’s national flower, in March or April signals the start of spring.

• The term “spring fever” refers to a both psychological and physiological symptoms associated with the arrival of spring, including restlessness, daydreaming, and increased sexual appetite. While the exact cause is unclear, scientists believe that increased light, more exercise, and more bare skin influence hormone levels.

• In the Southern Hemisphere, springtime lasts from August until November.

• During the spring, birds are more vocal as they sing to attract mates and warn away rivals.

• According to the National Association of Realtors, spring is the most popular season to sell/buy a house. Buyers are usually hesitant to move during the winter when the weather is colder and kids are in school. So, while there are lots of houses to choose from in the spring, property prices are at their highest then.

• Children actually grow faster in the spring than during other times of the year.

• The early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising sun on the spring equinox.

• Tornadoes are most common in the spring and least common in winter.

• Every year on the first day of spring, people in Poland gather to burn an effigy and throw it in the river to bid winter farewell.

• Honey Bees are more likely to swarm during the spring. They swarm as a way to start new colonies from successful ones. Surprisingly, swarming Honey Bees are very docile and the most friendly they will ever be all year.

So there you have it – a few fun facts about Spring, courtesy of your friends here at The Storage Inn. One more fun fact – Spring is the best time to get a great deal on that extra storage space you’ve been needing for soooo long. I just happen to know a great place……

Time to Spring Forward!

March has come in like a lion here at The Storage Inn in Egg Harbor Township New Jersey, but that hasn’t stopped our storage unit rental customers from buzzing about as they rearrange their storage units for spring use. I noticed, as I flipped our storage space rental office calendar over to the month of March, that Daylight Savings Time begins this month. “Spring Forward” I thought to myself – ugh! – One less hour of sleep on Saturday night. Oh well, at least it means that spring is on the way, and we will have more light during the evening hours. This all made me wonder where Daylight Savings Time came from, and how long we’ve been tinkering with the universe’s internal clock!

What Is Daylight Saving Time?
DST is a seasonal time change where clocks are set ahead of standard time by 1 hour. As a result, the Sun rises and sets later than the day before. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight.

Oh Canada!
It was first used in 1908 in Canada where on July 1, 1908, the residents of Port Arthur, Ontario turned their clocks forward by 1 hour to start the world’s first DST period.

Other locations in Canada soon followed suit. On April 23, 1914, Regina in Saskatchewan implemented DST. The cities of Winnipeg and Brandon in Manitoba did so on April 24, 1916. Daylight Saving Time in Regina proved so popular that laws were passed to bring DST into effect automatically.

DST Spreads to Europe
Daylight Saving Time did not catch on globally until Germany introduced it in 1916. Two years into World War I, clocks in the German Empire, and its ally Austria, were turned ahead by 1 hour in an effort to minimize the use of artificial lighting, and save fuel for the war effort. Within a few weeks, the United Kingdom, France, and many other countries followed suit.

Who Invented DST?
If you like Daylight Saving Time, you can thank New Zealand scientist George Vernon Hudson and British builder William Willett. In 1895, Hudson presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society, proposing a 2-hour shift forward in October and a 2-hour shift back in March. There was interest in the idea, but it was never followed through.

Then in 1905, British builder William Willett suggested setting the clocks ahead 20 minutes on each of the four Sundays in April, and switching them back by the same amount on each of the 4 Sundays in September, a total of 8 time switches per year. Willett’s Daylight Saving plan was introduced in a bill to the House of Commons in February 1908, however, the idea was opposed by many, especially farmers. Willett died in 1915, the year before the United Kingdom passed the bill into law.

DST in the USA
Daylight Saving Time  was not formally adopted in the U.S. until 1918. “An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States” was enacted on March 19, 1918. The new bill established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918.

Daylight Saving Time is now used in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over 1 billion people every year.

Here at The Storage Inn, the onset of Daylight Saving Time brings with it storage customers, old and new, packing away the winter items, and pulling out their lawn chairs, barbecue grills, and bicycles from their storage units. Yep – Warm weather and late sunsets are almost here – Don’t forget to “Spring Forward” !