The Uniform Time Act of 1966 states that if we are going to observe Daylight Savings Time, we must set our clocks back an hour in the fall. That doesn’t make it any easier to get used to it being dark by 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening! For Americans, the passing of this act was the beginning of Daylight Savings Time. But did you know that the idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, “An Economical Project?”

Here are some more interesting tidbits about Daylight Savings Time:

• Contrary to popular belief, Daylight Savings Time is an option, not a law. States and countries can decide not to participate, and a few states that don’t are Arizona and Hawaii—along with the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
• Oversight of DST first resided with the Interstate Commerce Commission. In 1966, the U.S. Congress transferred that responsibility to the newly created Department of Transportation. Why the DoT? Because the confusion with time zones actually began with the railroad.
• In 1883 the U.S. railroad industry established official time zones with a set standard time within each zone. Congress eventually came on board, signing the railroad time zone system into law in 1918.
• Part of the Act of 1918 also legislated for the observance of daylight saving time nationwide. That section of the act was repealed the following year, and DST thereafter became a matter left up to local jurisdictions.
• Daylight saving time was observed nationally again during World War II, but was not uniformly practiced after the war’s end. It didn’t become official until the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
• A 1972 amendment extended the option not to observe DST to areas lying in separate time zones but contained within the same state.
• The most recent modification to DST occurred in 1986, when the start date was moved from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in April.
• Research has shown that more available daylight increases energy savings while decreasing the number of traffic accidents, traffic fatalities, and incidences of crime.

Does your state or country observe Daylight Savings Time? And did you remember to set your clocks and watches back? You may have even discovered that your watch has stopped working and you need a new one, or you would like to buy a watch for a loved one at Christmas. Plastic Jungle can hook you up!

For instance, right now you can buy a Target gift card for 4% off* and buy a great watch at a discount.

Seems everyone has a story related to DST. What is yours?

(Portions of the above article were courtesy of National Geographic News.)

*Please check the site for current rates.