Daylight 'savings' time has not returned, despite popular belief. Daylight 'saving' time, however, has. One of the most common mistakes in regards to the event is making 'saving' plural. In actuality, the word has no 's'.
Standard Time, what we have after time 'falls back', returns at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November every year when we set our clocks back an hour.
Then, every year, on the second Sunday in March (at 2:00 a.m.), the clocks 'spring forward'. This deviation from Standard Time adds one hour of light from the morning to the evening.
The majority of the world goes through this time change. The only places that don't are Hawaii, Arizona, the American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Half of Indiana used to refrain from partaking in Daylight Saving Time (DST), but in 2005 a state law was passed, making the whole state go with DST.
According to The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, this idea was originally thought up by Ben Franklin, but was pushed in England by William Willett, who was a London constructor.
Franklin came up with the idea because he figured it would save many pounds of candle wax. An extra hour of daylight cut down on the amount of candlelight needed for daily activities.
There are many reasons we use DST, even today. According to The California Energy Commission, one of the main reasons still concerns the saving of energy. Towards the evening, when daily activities are still going on, we turn on the lights if it gets dark. But if it is still light when we are active, then the use of many lights is unnecessary, thus saving the amount of energy used.
The date chosen for DST is purposeful too. According to The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, a law was put in place making sure DST occurs after Election Day, the first Tuesday in November. Those changing the law believed more people would go to the polls if it was still light ouside after the average workday.
Also, according to The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, the law that made DST extended to November helped the safety of children trick-or-treating on Halloween. Children now have an extra hour of light to stock up on candy instead of walking around while it is getting dark.
Photo by A. Clement