On Sunday, November 4, at 2 am, clocks will be turned back one hour, heralding the end of daylight saving time for much of the country.
The biggest consequence: The change shifts daylight back into the morning hours. For 9-to-5 office workers, it means saying goodbye to leaving work while it’s still light out. And for weekend workers, it means an additional glorious hour of sleep on Sunday. Hurrah!
Yet there’s still a lot of confusion about daylight saving time. Here are a few things to know: Yes, it ends in the fall, just as the decrease in daylight hours is becoming noticeable.
1. While not necessarily advocating changing time, Benjamin Franklin urged his fellow countrymen to work during daylight and sleep after dark, thus saving money on candles. (It was likely a tongue-in-cheek comment.)
2. The U.S. Department of Transportation is in charge of time in the U.S., including time zones and daylight saving time.
3. The U.S. first implemented daylight saving during World War I as a way to conserve fuel with the Standard Time Act of 1918, also known as the Calder Act. In World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented a year-round daylight saving time that was commonly known as “War Time.”
4. Daylight saving became a federal law in 1966, with passage of the Uniform Time Act. It was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
5. Eight months of the year are in daylight time, and four months are in standard time.
6. Daylight saving is observed in approximately 70 countries, including most of those in North America and Europe.
