The time change back to standard time is almost here. We fall back on Nov. 7, 2010. Why does Daylight Savings Time exist and who doesn’t participate in it?
Halloween is over and we’re in the home stretch toward the holidays. You know what that means?
It’s time to fall back and get an extra hour of sleep (yay!) This year most of the United States and Canada falls back on Nov. 7 at 2 a.m. The United Kingdom turned their clocks back on Oct. 31.
Why do we fall back?
We set our clocks forward one hour in the spring for Daylight Savings Time. The idea was first brought about by Benjamin Franklin but wasn’t adopted as an international standard until the late 1800’s. The idea behind Daylight Savings Time is to help give an extra hour of daylight during the spring and summer months to help save on energy costs. We switch back to standard time during the cold winter months to give more daylight in the mornings.
Some experts argue that any energy saved by forwarding the clock an hour in the spring and summer is negated by our increased energy use in the dark evenings during the winter months.
Not all states participate
Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966 that standardized the start and end dates for Daylight Savings Time. However, the act allowed states to always remain on standard time if their state government allowed it.
Hawaii, most of Arizona and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands do not participate in Daylight Savings Time, meaning their clocks never change during the year.
No matter the reason, we love fall back because it gives (most) of us a reason to sleep an extra hour on the weekend. We’re already thinking about how good that extra hour of shut-eye will feel.
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