Don't Forget: Daylight Saving Time 2012 Begins Sunday

It's nearly time to "Spring Forward."

At 2 a.m. Sunday, we'll be springing our clocks forward—and losing an hour of the day, for daylight saving time. The good news: Sunset will be an hour later.

You might have noticed that the annual tradition of daylight saving time has crept forward a bit. We used to spring forward on the first Sunday in April and fall back on the last Sunday in October, but several years ago, Congress changed the date—adding more daylight saving time to the calendar.

This year, daylight saving time will be in effect from March 11 until Nov. 4, unless you're in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. They don't use daylight saving time.

Throughout the world, about 75 countries and territories have at least one location that observes daylight saving time, according to TimeandDate.com. On the other hand, 164 don't observe the time change.

Brief History:

According to the Huffington Post: 

Benjamin Franklin has been credited with the idea of daylight saving time, but Britain and Germany began using the concept in World War I to conserve energy, the Washington Post reported. The United States used daylight saving time for a brief time during the war, but it didn't become widely accepted in the States until after World War II.

In 1966, the Uniform Time Act outlined that clocks should be set forward on the last Sunday in April and set back the last Sunday in October.

That law was amended in 1986 to start daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, though the new system wasn't implemented until 1987. The end date was not changed, however, and remained the last Sunday in October until 2006.

Today, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The time change will precede the first day of spring and the vernal equinox, which will be at 1:14 a.m. EDT on March 20.

How do you feel about Daylight Saving Time?  Tell Pine-Richland Patch readers in the comments.