• In 1775, Benjamin Franklin raised the idea of getting up earlier to make better use of daylight and avoid nighttime burning of candles
• Around the turn of the 20th century, George Hudson of New Zealand and William Willett of England separately pitched summertime clock changes, each se...

• Most of the United States spends 34 weeks, or about seven months, from mid-March to mid-November, on standard time.
• Around the world, most of North America, Europe, and New Zealand as well as some parts of the Middle East, South Africa, and Australia practice a biannual ...

Twice-yearly switching- Changing the clocks twice a year has become widely viewed by the public, lawmakers and sleep experts as not only an inconvenience, but also as a serious health and public safety concern.

Daylight saving time - While the original purp...

• Most Americans had to go to work and school in the dark, with sunrise arriving around 8:30 a.m. in cities including Washington, D.C., New York, and Detroit.
• Disapproval of the switch grew when multiple children were fatally struck by cars while headed to school in dark.
• By la...

• More than 60 percent of Americans are in favor of stopping the biannual switch
• Of the people who want to eliminate the shift, nearly twice as many prefer permanent daylight saving time over standard time
• The poll found that older adults expressed a clear preference for year-r...