You might have been told when you were younger was the reason why the clocks go forward in the spring is to help farmers to make the most of the longer days. But the origins of BST, also known as Daylight Savings Time, has a lot more to do with saving candles than extra time on the fields.
The idea is said to have been first proposed by American scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin in 1784, although he merely suggested Parisians change their sleep schedules to save money on candles and lamp oil.
However, it wasn't until 1907 when a serious proposal was made by builder William Willett in Britain. Willett, Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather, was angry that daylight was being wasted in the summer, so he self-published a pamphlet called 'The Waste of Daylight'
