Winter is here, and so is the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on November 6 at 2am. Make sure to set your clock back one hour to 1am and enjoy an extra hour of sleep! Whether you appreciate the time adjustment each year or hate it, most of the United States has observed it for more than 100 years. Make sure you know your holiday!

It’s Daylight Saving Time, not “Daylight Savings.” Now you’re enlightened on the proper phrasing.

Most Americans think DST isn’t worth the hassle. In a poll by Rasmussen Reports in 2013, only 37 percent of people surveyed thought DST was worth doing, with 47 percent saying it isn’t worth the hassle, and 19 percent unsure of their stance. In a more recent, ongoing poll by AccuWeather, the findings aren’t in DST’s favor. A whopping 82 percent of people surveyed said DST is not necessary (8,127 votes), compared to 18 percent who said it was (1,813 votes).

DST is not observed in all states. Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST. In fact, in 1919, DST was repealed but later re-established after WWII. Once the war ended, each state was allowed to choose whether or not to observe DST.

Despite common belief, DST did not begin as a way to benefit farmers. Farmers, who simply rely on daylight rather than a clock, were upset at the inconvenient time changes. It was Benjamin Franklin who first suggested that we could save money by rising earlier and turning in sooner in his letter to the Journal of Paris in 1784. How? Back then, he argued that stretching out daylight would cut down on candle costs, saving folks money.

DST could save your life. OK, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it could prevent crime! A study in The Review of Economics and Statistics in 2015 found that there was a 7 percent decrease in robberies following a shift to DST. That translated to $59 million in annual social savings costs from avoided robberies!

Resources:

The Review of Economics and Statistics

Sleep Number

The Telegraph

Rasmussen Reports