Daylight Saving Time comes to an end on Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 2 a.m. which is when the clocks "fall back" one hour as we welcome the winter season in the U.S.
There are a few exceptions. Hawaii, Arizona, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't follow Daylight Savings Time, so they can ignore the time change as the rest of us sync back up with them.
This means that we will be setting your clock back one hour, following the adage of "spring forward, fall back." The gained hour will give us chance to sleep in a little longer and catch up on any sleep lost back in March when Daylight Savings Time or 2012 began.
The federal government doesn't require states to adopt Daylight Savings Time, so Arizona doesn't. Indiana used to ignore Daylight Savings, but now observes it. Indiana is the only state, however, with counties in two time zones. Ones snuggled up close to Lake Michigan and Chicago are on Central Time, but the rest of the state is on Eastern Standard Time.
Daylight Saving Time began with Benjamin Franklin. According to the National Geographic Franklin wrote about how many resources we could save if people spent more time working in the daylight hours. About 100 years ago the U.S. standardized Daylight Saving hours and made it optional for states to follow. During World War II, however, it was mandated as a way to save wartime resources, National Geographic says.
Daylight Saving Time 2013 will begin on March 10, 2013.
