It might be chilly now, but spring and the time to turn our clocks ahead one hour come again soon. In fact, this year we spring forward on March 13.

Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration explain that Benjamin Franklin is credited with the concept of Daylight Saving Time. They note the basic idea is to make the best use of daylight hours by shifting the clock forward in the spring and backward in the fall.

NASA researchers go on to say Daylight Saving Time has been in use throughout much of the United States, Canada and Europe since World War I. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act into law whereby Daylight Saving Time would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October each year. Congress modified the law in 2005 to create the current schedule of Daylight Saving Time starting on the second Sunday in March and ending on the first Sunday in November.

David Prerau, a former U.S. Department of Transportation official, has dedicated much of his professional life to studying the effects of Daylight Saving Time. Prerau refutes the notion the law came about strictly to benefit farmers and growers. He believes many commercial outlets such as retailers benefit from extra daylight coming in the latter part of a day.

What seems as simple as just turning your watch ahead one hour, Prerau says, “has led to surprisingly contentious clashes between numerous politicians, scientists and interest groups in the United States and all across the globe.”

On the Web:
NASA Daylight Saving Time Schedule
eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/daylightsaving.html