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The phrase is ´spring ahead, fall back´, and it reminds us which way to turn our clocks each spring and fall for Daylight Savings Time. Why do we change our clocks, and when do we do it?

The US changes its clocks on the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October. Each time zone does it at 2am. The European Union does it the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October, with the entire union doing it at 1am GST.

The Idea of Time
Sundials have been around for thousands of years, but those vary from location to location. The idea of a ´centralized time´ started in the middle ages, with mechanical clocks. Even these were set so that noon was when the sun was directly overhead. It wasn´t until trains began running in England in the early 1800s that ´centralized time´ really mattered. However, with trains, timetables became important, and by the late 1800s, almost all countries used some form of standardized time.

Why Alter the Clocks?
The main reason is to be most active during daylight hours, and to save electricity. Most countries see up to 5% energy savings by altering the clocks so that most people are doing things when there is natural light. Not only is there less need for light while people are home, but people also stay outdoors longer in the evening because there is light to do things. Because they are not home using electricity, the savings are even greater.

The US experimented with extra DST during the energy crisis of the early 70s, and found that the extra time did save 10,000 barrels of oil worth of energy a day. It also reduced traffic accidents, because people were driving more in the light where they could see, and reduced crime, because people were doing things in the light instead of in the dark.

Who Came Up with This?
The idea of altering clocks to make better use of sunlight was first proposed by Ben Franklin, and was taken up by London builder William Willett. He brought a bill into the House of Commons several times, but was laughed at. When Germany began using this time change to save energy in WW1, England followed suit, with the first day being May 21, 1916. The US joined in on March 19, 1918.

The changes were at first confusing in each nation that they affected, but eventually the system became understood. In fact, during WW2 England had ´Double Summer Time´ to even further increase its energy savings. Russia keeps itself one hour ahead in general, to save energy, and in the summer it moves two hours ahead to take advantage of the extra light.

2006-09-24 11:47:31 · answer #1 · answered by thumberlina 6 · 5 0

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why do we need to turn our clocks backwards and forwards at spring and autumn?
changing of seasons

2015-08-18 21:41:10 · answer #2 · answered by Klarika 1 · 0 0

It's forwards in the Spring and back in the Autumn by the way. Nowadays the reasoning is that it gets light too early during the summer (especially in Scotland where it doesn't get past twilight), but in the past it was due to some military reasons, which escape me for now.

2006-09-24 11:59:22 · answer #3 · answered by cheekbones3 3 · 0 0

I agree with Thumberlina 100%. But it actually has nothing to do with farmers, like some have said. Most farmers do not change their clocks at all, and if they do, it is only for convenience sake. Dairy cows get milked every 12 hours. It is very difficult to change their milking times, it takes a long time for them to adjust to change.

2006-09-24 13:19:43 · answer #4 · answered by knownothing 4 · 0 0

Its to do with having the most day light. As the days get shorter we put our clocks back in order to try and obtain as much day light as possible. But once it comes to spring we can put it back as there is more day light as the days are longer.

Its day light saving

2006-09-24 11:53:00 · answer #5 · answered by CHIMP 2 · 0 0

spring forwards in the spring
fall backwards in the autumn

2006-09-24 12:01:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Because of the darker mornings
As a kid I thought it would be a good idea to set it half an hour between GMT & ST, I still do...

2006-09-24 11:50:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

To answer your question, you don't 'need' to do it. But if you didn't you'd be out of synch for half the bloody year. It's up to you.
If you want to know 'why' we do it, see Thumber's answer. Bless!

2006-09-24 16:39:09 · answer #8 · answered by ? 1 · 0 0

To work with the sunrise + daybreak more accurately Tipper Darling !

2006-09-24 11:59:05 · answer #9 · answered by luckychockynala 2 · 0 0

its done to try to get an extra hour of sunlight for people and mainly students. so people dont have to work in the dark.

2016-03-16 22:07:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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