In the UK British summertime was introduced to take advantage of the longer sunlit days during the summer months. The clocks are moved 1 hour forwards so if the sunrises at 4 am (Greenwich Mean Time) it now rises at 5 a.m. (british summer time) Also if the sun set at 8pm (GMT) it now sets at 900pm (GMT) This slight time adjustment would make it easier for the workforce to take advantage of the light and not sleep through a lot of it.

A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, we have an extra hour of sunlight in the evenings. So we save on energy that would otherwise be consumed by the use of artificial lighting. We also use less electricity because we are home fewer hours during the "longer" days of spring and summer. Most people plan outdoor activities in the extra daylight hours. When we are not at home, we don't turn on the appliances and lights.

First of all, let's get clear that daylight saving time doesn't increase or decrease the length of a day or the amount of sunlight, and neither will anything else human beings do. What it does is shifts our schedule against the daylight, having exactly the same effect as if we all agreed simultaneously to set our alarms for an hour earlier in the morning and go to bed an hour earlier in the evening. The idea was originally to save on the resources used to generate electricity and heat in Europe during WW I, and it seems to do so, though not in huge amounts. The "extra" daylight in the evening more than offsets the extra light and heat needed in the morning because usage is unbalanced -- there's more to be saved in the evening. Presumably, also, quite a few people still rise early enough that they'd be using energy then in any event. It tends to be popular (though not universally), apparently because people appreciate the extra light when they're home and socializing more than they miss it in the morning -- it may be darker in the a.m. but they're on their way to work anyway. Remains a pain for people who deal with animals on a diurnal schedule, like chickens. The site noted below sets forth the rationale and history (which has had a lot of twists and turns). It also has a small interactive feature showing the effect of DST on the globe at different latitudes. (DST is largely unused near the equator -- what would be the point?) Brief history: tried in WW I (when it was initiated in Europe) but unpopular here and abandoned in 1918. Revived during WW II, with year-round DST ("war time") observed from February '42 to September '45. Local option around the country for 20 years, with a lot of weird local anomalies around state and county borders, and a growing pain in the neck for the transportation and broadcasting industries, leading to the Uniform Time Act in 1966. Emergency legislation in 1974 during the first energy "crisis" created 15-month DST, Jan '74 to April '75. Even after that there were variations, with the current system not coming in until the '80s. Source of much of the above: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html

It is a relic of the First World War; people didn't want to change their schedules after years of it: "The idea of DST was first put into practice by the German government during the First World War, between April 30, 1916 and October 1, 1916. Shortly afterward, the United Kingdom followed suit, first adopting it between May 21 and October 1, 1916. On June 17, 1917 Newfoundland became the first North American jurisdiction to adopt DST with the passing of the Daylight Saving Act of 1917. On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress formally established several time zones, which had been in use by railroads and most cities since 1883; at the same time they made DST official, effective March 31, for the remainder of World War I. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. The law, however, proved so unpopular, mostly because people rose and went to bed earlier than in current times, that it was repealed in 1919, when Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the repeal." ... "One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. A 1975 United States Department of Transportation study showed that DST would theoretically reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% from March to April, if implemented during these months.[3] These numbers have been supported in Mexico, which began implementing daylight saving time in 1996. Evaluations show national savings of 0.7% of national electric consumption (1.3 billion KWh (TWh)) and reduction of peak load by 500MW.[4] Part of the reason that it is normally observed only in the early spring, summer, and early autumn instead of the winter months is that the amount of energy saved by experiencing sunset one hour later would be negated by the increased need for artificial morning lighting due to a later sunrise. During the summer most people would wake up after the sun rises, regardless of whether daylight saving time is in effect or not, so there is no increased need for morning lighting to offset the afternoon drop in energy usage. Another reason for not observing daylight saving time in the winter is concern about children walking to school in the dark. Another argued benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities. Most people plan outdoor activities during sunlight hours. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people's risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas). When the U.S. went on extended DST in 1974 and 1975 in response to the 1973 energy crisis, Department of Transportation studies found that observing DST in March and April saved 10,000 barrels of oil a day, and prevented about 2,000 traffic injuries and 50 fatalities saving about U.S. $28 million in traffic costs." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_savings

So we can say clever things like "Spring Forward" and "Fall Back".

it has something to do with the farmers, but otherwise, I dunno.

It has something to do with saving electricity... EDIT: Saving daylight was first mentioned in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin in a humorous letter urging Parisians to save money by getting up earlier to use morning sunlight, thereby burning fewer candles in the evening. Franklin did not mention daylight saving time—he did not propose that clock time be changed. His letter was in the spirit of his earlier proverb "Early to bed and early to rise / Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." William Willett Memorial Sundial, always on DSTDST was first proposed in 1907 by William Willett. An avid golfer, he disliked cutting short his round at dusk. The proposal attracted many eminent supporters, including Balfour, Churchill, Lloyd George, and MacDonald. Edward VII also favored DST, and had already been using it informally at Sandringham. However, Prime Minister Asquith opposed the proposal and after many hearings it was narrowly defeated in a Parliament committee vote in 1909. Willett's allies introduced new DST bills every year from 1911 through 1914, to no avail. DST was first enacted by a national government by Germany during World War I, starting April 30, 1916. The United Kingdom soon followed suit, first observing it on May 21, 1916. On June 17, 1917, Newfoundland became the first North American jurisdiction to adopt DST with the Daylight Saving Act of 1917. On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The wartime measure, however, proved unpopular among farmers, and Congress repealed it in 1919. Woodrow Wilson, another avid golfer, vetoed the repeal twice but his second veto was overridden. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Energy conservation has often been used to justify DST. Artificially delaying sunrise and sunset tends to increase electricity usage in the morning and reduce it in the evening. Savings occur if the evening reduction outweighs the morning increase. A U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) study concluded in 1975 that DST might reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% during March and April.[7] A study after Mexico reintroduced DST in 1996 estimated a reduction of national electricity consumption by 0.7% and of peak load by 500 MW. An energy argument for observing DST in summer rather than winter is that most people wake up after the summer sun rises regardless of whether DST is in effect, so DST during summer has less need for morning electrical lighting. Critics argue that the energy savings of DST are overstated, and that DST can sometimes increase energy consumption and peak demand. Also, the rise of air conditioning calls older energy models into question. In 2000 when parts of Australia began DST in late winter, overall electricity consumption did not decrease, but the morning peak load increased. Currently there is no clear evidence that electricity will be saved by the 2007 U.S. rule change. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_savings_time

You stinker you beat me to it -- LOL

Not everybody in North America has to adjust for Daylight Savings Time. There are areas of Saskatchewan, BC and all of Nunavut that are exempt. The reason behind DST originally, was to give workers more daylight at the end of the workday. GWB has endorsed this newer version of DST as a method to conserve energy. For the life of me, I can't figure out how pushing the date further forward actually accomplishes this as whatever energy you've saved later in the workday is being used now in the mornings.

I have no idea. Just when I get used to the time we are on it's time to change it again. I know it is only an hours swing but I swear when it changes in the spring and we lose an hour I am exhausted for a week.

Never understood what this thing is for...

that would be big HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arizona and Hawaii do fine without it, so why not.

No I like daylight savings its my favourite time of year!

We should all just operate on UTC. No Daylight Saving Time, no British Summer Time. I'll be more than happy to go to work at 23:00 (when the sun is rising), come home at 07:00, and go to bed at 15:00 (a little after dusk). Time is just a number that we assign to the passage of the fourth dimension. Why should we change it all the time?

No. Want a reason? It also has become 'change your batteries in your smoke detectors day,' which is very important. Besides, most clocks do the changing for you anyway, so can't see the big deal.

here in Indiana we have only had it for about 2 years

Yes! In Miami for example, it's horrible... it's hotter for longer. The damn sun doesn't go down till 8:30pm... and it's like 98 degrees. Sucks. Lose it!

LOL. Umm no.

meh... its not that hard to figure out... no... it makes sense

End Daylight Savings Time Now. http://www.standardtime.com/

daylight saving was introduced at the end of the second world war as a way of allowing increased sunlight time needed to produce ammuninitions. DST has been introduced by most countries at some time or other with the exception of the tropics...

BST was first implemented during the first world war as a way of increasing the available sunlight hours to produce ammuninitions. At some point or other BST has been implemented throughout most countries with the exception of the tropics...