Daylight Savings Time 2011: 11 Percent of Americans Turn Clocks Wrong Way Tonight
It is the time of year for Americans to put their clocks back this Sunday. Daylight Saving Time is ending which means clocks will be turned back one hour. However, a new survey has found that 11 percent of Americans set their clocks “forward” rather than “back” at the end of Daylight Saving Time.
Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,000 Americans, according to the Daily Mail. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed admitted to being late or early because they did not keep the Daylight Savings method correctly.
Another five percent of those surveyed said they are not sure whether to turn the clocks back or forward.
The change will not become official until 2 a.m. on Sunday local time. Americans will gain an extra hour of sleep once summer time officially ends.
The notion of Daylight Saving Time was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin, according to author Dr. David Prerau. It was first adopted by Germany during WWI. The U.S. Congress established DST in 1918, in order to conserve resources for the war effort. It was observed until 1919, when the law was repealed.
It was reinstated in 1942 and observed until 1945 during WWII.
Residents of Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe DST.
Daylight Saving Time will again be observed on the second Sunday in March 2012.