It seems to cause more confusion than a Britney Spears' marriage but we still wait each year with bated breath for the night when the hands of time turn back. No, it's not a metaphor for erasing mistakes from your past - it's Daylight Saving Time. Every year at the end of October or early November, clocks around the world will "fall back" giving us all one extra hour of sleep that night, and one less hour of sunlight in the evening for the rest of the season. This year we change the clocks on November 4th, 2018 - but is it really worth the hassle?
Daylight Savings Fall Back!
Is It Really Possible To Save Time?
Daylight Saving Time is a time cycle that starts in the early spring when you set your clocks ahead one hour. Because the sun rises so early in the spring and summer months, setting your clocks ahead by an hour gives you more daylight in the evening. In the fall, the exact opposite happens - we set our clocks back an hour (to Standard Time) to gain an extra hour of sunlight in the morning, so we're not heading off to school or work in the dark!
Why Do It?
Daylight Saving Time is proven to save on energy because people aren't turning on their lamps, heat, etc. as early as they would have, had their clocks not been turned back. But that doesn't mean that Daylight Saving Time has been a hit with everyone.
The History
It wasn't until World War I that countries started to think of observing Daylight Saving Time. The practice of switching the time around has been a muddle ever since. For years after WWI, the United States government let individual states and cities decide whether or not they wanted to observe Daylight Saving Time because it had angered so many people originally. At the time, many Americans were farmers used to getting up early and going to bed early as well. An hour of extra light at night wasn't going to do them any good. It wasn't until the mid-1970s that an official law on the matter was passed. And still there are states, such as Hawaii, most of Indiana and Arizona, who do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Changes to Prepare For
In 2005, the American government passed a bill that would change the way we observe Daylight Saving Time, yet again. Starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time will start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. It looks like both the United States and Canada will follow these new guidelines.
In 2018, we set the clocks forward on March 11th, 2018 and move them backwards on November 4th, 2018.
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