For the better part of the last 100 years, people around the world have been changing their clocks twice a year. Usually in the second or third week of March, the time "Springs Forward" one hour. In the EU, this jump is standardized, with everyone changing their clocks at 1am GMT. In the US, the switch happens at 2am, with each time zone changing at their own time. The day is only 23 hours. Ever wish you had more time? In the Fall, the day of the switch is actually 25 hours, with time being changed back one hour instead. The change usually occurs on a weekend so not to disrupt workweek schedules.

Originally suggested anonymously by Benjamin Franklin to Parisians in 1784 to economize on candles. It wasn`t until a century later in 1905 that the actual idea of Daylight Saving Time, DST, was conceived by William Willett. Willett was distraught that Londoners seemed to sleep through a large part of their summer day. His idea was to advance the clock in the summer months. Willett proposed a thorough plan to advance clocks 20 minutes on each of four Sundays in April, and then back by the same amount on four Sundays in September. He lobbied his proposal unsuccessfully until his death in 1915. Only a year after his death, Germany and its WWI allies finally implemented his invention. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals followed their lead. With the United States finally joining in in1918. The plan has since been adjusted and repealed many times over. With the last adjustment coming to the United States in 2007.

Originally, the plan was to increase the opportunity for outdoor leisure activities during the afternoon. Since then everyone has had an opinion. In the 1970`s different studies were done to show the energy benefits that DST supposedly provided by reducing the amount of artificial light used in the evenings. Opposing results eventually showed that the evening reduction didn`t outweighed the morning increase. Actually, some studies even showed and in increase in fuel consumption, increasing the demand for gas.

Retailers and other businesses enjoy DST because customers have an extra hour to shop and spend money in other ways in the evenings. Farmers, and others whose hours are set by the sun, don�t appreciate DST. Clock shifts also seem to decrease economic efficiency, entailing extra work to occur on the shift day.

Even public safety has been used as a reason for DST. Some studies showed a decrease in traffic fatalities, while others showed no change. One study actually found that there was an increase in crashes fatal to pedestrians immediately after the spring clock shift. DST is also used as a reminder to change smoke and carbo monoxide detector batteries twice a year.

Love it or hate it, understand it or are perplexed by it, DST remains. If it is a huge bother, check out an Oceanus Atomic Solar Chronograph, which will update itself.