How much do you know about Daylight Saving Time?

'Spring forward' an hour in the U.S. on March 11, in Europe on March 25 

Welcome once again to spring, northern hemisphere. As you prepare to watch trees come back into bloom, you'll also want to make sure you move those clocks ahead an hour if you're in a location that observes Daylight Saving Time (DST). In most of the United States, the change takes effect March 11; in most parts of Europe, DST starts March 25. Otherwise, you risk a late start to your day. At least your Intel equipment is covered, as your PC's time will be updated as soon as you sign on for the day. But you may still need to adjust your schedule for those areas that don't observe DST (or at least, haven't observed it yet), because they could be an hour or more off from what you're used to.

Those are the basics, which you've heard many times before. But how much do you really know about DST? Here are some questions from a quiz by FunTrivia to test your knowledge of the world's twice-yearly time switch:

1. Who was the first person to first to conceive the idea of daylight saving time while he was a delegate in Paris in 1784?

·         William Willett

·         Burton Childress

·         Benjamin Franklin

·         Henry Whipple

2. Even though they were not on daylight saving yet, which country was the first to adopt one standard time throughout a region?

·         United States

·         Great Britain

·         France

·         Japan

3. When did the United States go to Standard Time?

·         1884

·         1886

·         1885

·         1883

4. What is the primary reason 2 a.m. was set as the changeover time in the United States?

·         It would be convenient, because a lot of people would be up partying.

·         The time would force people to remember the change was happening.

·         It was easy to calculate the change from this time.

·         Less disruption, as most people would be changed over by daybreak.

5. Based on a study by the Carnegie Mellon Institute, which of the following statements is true?

·         Pedestrians are three times more likely to be hit and killed by cars when going off DST.

·         Twice as many construction accidents happen just before going to DST.

·         Drivers are twice as likely to fall asleep at the wheel during standard time.

·         Bus accidents go up fourfold when the change to DST occurs.

6. Which country was the first to adopt a system of Daylight Saving Time?

·         France.

·         Germany.

·         Great Britain.

·         United States.

7. What piece of legislation standardized DST in the United States and when?

·         The Daylight Saving Time Act, 1967.

·         The Uniform Time Act, 1964.

·         The Uniform Time Act, 1966.

·         The Daylight Saving Time Act, 1966.

8. What was it called when Britain put their clocks two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) during World War II?

·         Bonus Daylight Time.

·         Double Daylight Time.

·         Double Summer Time.

·         Extended Daylight Time.

9. Which of the following U.S. states does not observe DST?

·         Oregon.

·         Arizona.

·         Alabama.

·         Texas.

10. Until 2011, how did Russia vary Daylight Saving Time?

·         Russia observes DST all year long.

·         They set the clocks two hours ahead of standard time in summer.

·         Russia does not observe DST.

·         They set the clocks one hour behind standard during DST.

In about a half year—Oct. 28 in most of Europe, and Nov. 4 in most of the United States—DST ends and you'll get to set everything back an hour. So make every minute count!

Here are the answers to the quiz questions from above: 

1.    William Willett was a London builder who published a pamphlet, "Waste of Daylight," in 1907. He lobbied for years to have DST put into action but was still unsuccessful when he died in 1915.

2.    Pushed by the railroads, Britain began to change the many different times to a standard one in 1847 and was largely converted by 1855.

3.    On November 18, 1883, the United States as well as Canada implemented standard time in their time zones. This was also driven by the railroads and prior to this, each locality was able to determine time in whatever fashion suited them. William Lambert was the first to promote the adoption of time zones in 1809, though he was unsuccessful in this endeavor.

4.    Lawmakers believed that it was very desirable for the entire continental U.S. to have made the change by the start of the normal working day to minimize disruption. Many computer and electronic systems—including those at Intel—now make the adjustment without human intervention.

5.    A Carnegie Mellon Institute study determined that pedestrians were three times more likely to be killed by a car in the time frame when the switch from DST to standard time occurs. Scientists have speculated that drivers go through a biologic adjustment period as dusk approaches and when we go off of DST, darkness falls before this adjustment is made.

6.    Germany adopted DST in April 1916, with Great Britain following May 1916. Currently about 70 countries around the world observe daylight saving time in some form.

7.    Before the Uniform Time Act of 1966, localities set the start and end of DST at will. The Act standardized the starting and ending dates, as well as the time the change occurred. It did not require that all areas observe DST.

8.    Double Summer Time was deemed a benefit to the war effort. Other countries in the world have altered their standard time when war was waged.  

9.    Among this list, Arizona does not observe DST. Other areas connected to the U.S. that do not observe DST are Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.

10.  The higher latitude localities in Russia saw a lot of benefit from a two-hour difference in summer, and set clocks accordingly. In February 2011, Russia decided to stay on Daylight Saving Time permanently