5 Things to Know About Daylight Saving Time

Daylight saving time was created to save fuel during World War I, not for farmers. Germany started it in 1916 to conserve coal, and the US followed in 1918.

The practice was so unpopular after WWI that it was repealed. It returned during WWII and was repealed again, then made semi-permanent during the 1970s oil crisis.

The March start date is set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which moved it from April to try saving more energy. The shift only makes sense when days are long enough.

The idea that farmers love daylight saving time is a myth. Farmers actually hate it because their schedules depend on the sun, not the clock, and they opposed it from the start.

Nobody agrees on whether to keep it permanently or which time to pick. The spring-forward disruption is universally disliked, but Congress has not fixed it.