Today is the summer solstice. Here in DC, we get approximately 14 hours of daylight throughout these summer months and if you are like most people and don’t know what to do with all of that extra daylight on your hands, fear not.
We’ve compiled a list of things for you to do with all this extra light outside. Before we get into how you can spend your extra time, allow us to give you some scenarios so you can fully understand just how long 14 hours of daylight really is.
In 14 hours you can…
- Fly from DC to Paris and back (and still have time to spare to eat a croissant)
- Achieve an 8-minute ab workout 105 times (hellooo (six pack), it’s me)
- Run 326.34 miles, if you are as fast as Usain Bolt
- Watch every Star Wars movie created back to back (and still have time for bathroom breaks)
- Take the SAT exam 4 times (here’s hoping you finally get that 2400)
- Watch ‘N Sync’s Bye Bye Bye music video 210 times (and still be mesmerized by J-Timberlake’s fro)
- Follow FamousDC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat 50,400 times (it only takes one second!)
Alright, now that you grasp just how long 14 hours is, here are our suggestions for how to spend your extra time in the daylight (*cue Maroon 5 song*):
Take #SolsticeSelfies
More natural light means better looking selfies, so channel your inner Kim Kardashian and get snapping.
Get Sunburnt
Longer daylight hours gives you an even longer time to burn in the sun, so ditch the SPF 50 and get tanning burning.
Communicate with People in Person
You now have more time to catch up with your friends in the daylight instead of over texts late at night when you’re already too tired to get out of bed.
Exercise
While the sun is burning bright you can be burning calories by walking or running (to the ice cream truck and back).
Procrastinate
With so many more working hours in the day, you can tell yourself you’ll get that done later and continue refreshing your Facebook feed.
Waste Time on the Internet
Summer may only give you 14 hours of sunlight but the internet is always illuminated.
Sleep Less and Complain More
We’re only blessed with 10 hours worth of darkness for some shut-eye in the summer, which can leave people very tired and cranky. On the plus side, they now have another reason to complain about why they are so tired.
Spend it in a Dark Room Binging on Netflix
This one doesn’t pertain to the extra daylight, but we all know it’s what you want to be doing.
So get out there and soak up the sun because some of us have jobs and are not fortunate enough to experience natural sunlight.
*This article was originally published on June 20, 2016 when the summer solstice fell on the same day as the “strawberry moon”. It has since been updated.
