Get a jump-start on springing forward

Starting this year, Daylight Saving Time has been changed from its traditional calendar dates to start three weeks earlier - this Sunday, March 11 - and to finish one week later - Sunday, November 4. Daylight Saving Time is practiced in order to gain an extra hour of daylight during the early evening, resulting in the conservation of energy by substituting natural sunlight for electrical lighting. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, Daylight Saving Time first began in 1918 during World War I to allow for more evening light and save fuel for the war effort. Since then, Daylight Saving Time has been used on and off, with different start and end dates.

Benjamin Franklin first suggested the idea in 1784. It was later revived in 1907, when William Willett proposed a similar system in the pamphlet, "The Waste of Daylight". The Germans were the first to officially adopt the light-extending system in 1915, followed by the British, and in 1918 the United States, when Congress passed the Standard Time Act, establishing our time zones.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is one of several publications published by Yankee Publishing of Dublin, New Hampshire. The Almanac family of products also includes several themed calendars for 2007. Folks who can't find The 2007 Old Farmer's Almanac where books and magazines are sold can order individual copies or subscriptions at Almanac.com (where you can also find articles on a variety of Almanac topics, recipes, trivia, and a unique home-page personalization option) or by calling 800-223-3166.

Asst. Editor's note: Some electronics, including computers, may not reset the time automatically and will have to be done so manually. However, the electronic devices may reset itself again in three weeks when it was programmed to; so, yet again, you may have to reset your electronics.

There have been reports, too, that communication services, such as cellphones, e-mail and the like, may suffer temporary disruptions.