Daylight savings fun

In 1984 the Eldorado Daily Journal announced a Daylight Saving Time contest to see who could save the most daylight. They offered a prize for the person who saved the most.

"Only pure daylight is allowed. No pre-dawn light or twilight will be accepted. Daylight on cloudy days is allowable. Moonlight is strictly prohibited and any of it mixed with daylight will bring immediate disqualification. Contestants are instructed to save their accumulated daylight in any container they wish, then bring the container to the Daily Journal office at the end of DST -- or when they think they have saved enough daylight to win. All entries will be donated to less fortunate nations that do not observe Daylight Savings Time."

The article ended with a note that the rules were being announced early (until 1987, DST began on the last Sunday in April, not the first) because "it seemed appropriate to coordinate the announcement with Sunday, April 1, 'All Fools' Day.'"

That message probably did the trick. The response was stunning and even some of the biggest news stations took the message seriously.