Nation & World News
Daylight Saving Time: 6 things to know about ‘falling back’
Twice a year, in most of the 50 states anyway, millions of Americans go through the chore of adjusting their clocks and watches either forward or backward. Here are a few things you might not know about the "springing forward" and "falling back" of daylight saving time:
- Though we are "falling back," daylight saving time will "spring forward" March 10.
- Daylight saving time is not observed by Arizona, Hawaii and four U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Daylight saving time was used during World War I, according to several historical sources, as a way to reserve fuel.
- A report from the University of Virginia suggests there is an uptick in street crime, especially robbery, when clocks are turned back. Officials in DeKalb County and at the Atlanta Police Department say they have no local data to support the school's findings.
- In 2012, a University of Alabama researcher suggested "springing forward" could present health challenges, including an increase in the potential for heart attacks.
- Some believe it is cheaper to "fall back" than to "spring forward." A 2008 study conducted by the University of California Energy Institute conducted a study of households in Indiana and concluded the $9 million increase in electricity bills could be attributed to springing forward.
