VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Daylight saving time, often misnamed “daylight savings time,” begins this Sunday at 2 a.m. The change is typically met with complaints about the lost hour of sleep and the glare of the sun during the morning commute, but also the eventual cheer of later sunsets. The practice of moving clocks ahead dates back to the early 20th century.
In the 1900s, several countries considered altering clocks during the summer months. During World War I, Germany became the first nation to adopt daylight saving time on May 1, 1916, as a way to conserve fuel. The rest of Europe soon followed. The United States implemented the change on March 19, 1918, but it was unpopular and was abolished after the war.
The U.S. next experimented with time changes on Feb. 9, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented a year-round daylight saving time, calling it “war time.” This lasted until Sept. 30, 1945.
With the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, daylight saving time became standardized in the U.S. The act mandated uniform time within established time zones and set the clock changes for 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October.
In response to the 1973 oil embargo, Congress enacted a trial period of year-round daylight saving time from January 1974 to April 1975 to conserve energy. Although energy savings is often cited as the primary reason for daylight saving time, studies have shown that any reduction in lighting use is offset by increased air conditioning use.
Today, daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.
Only two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do not observe daylight saving time.
