Fall Back? Why Daylight Saving Time Is So Confusing

There is mixed research on whether daylight saving time causes an uptick in car accidents as a result of groggy drivers. More objective measures of timekeeping go way back: Ancient Egyptians divided the day into 12 hour-long segments, and used both astronomy and devices called water clocks to track the hours. Other ancient timekeeping methods included sundials and candle clocks, which worked like water clocks except by melting wax rather than by dripping water.