There may be snow on the ground but believe it or not, it's time to spring forward.
That's right, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, Mar. 10 and residents are reminded to turn all their clocks ahead one hour.
But did you know that for a task that's such an accepted part of all Americans' lives, there's actually a lot more to it? Check out these five facts about Daylight Saving Time:
- Most of the world does not take part in this practice. Much of South America, Asia and Australia do not participate in Daylight Saving Time anymore, while a large part of Africa never recognized it. Some U.S. states, including Arizona, don't even participate in DST.
- Benjamin Franklin is the unofficial "father" of Daylight Saving Time. In the late 1700s, he jokingly proposed that Parisians wake up earlier in the summer to save on candle use and instead utilize daylight. Unbeknownst to Franklin, this would later be morphed into DST.
- Some experts suggest that Daylight Saving Time is harmful to children's sleep routines. A Washington Post parenting blog suggests tips for making the switch easier on kids.
- In some parts of Europe, DST is commonly referred to as "Summer Time." In Britain, it's known as "British Summer Time," while in Germany, it's "sommerzeit."
- Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 3, 2013.
