“If you’re like most Americans, you’ve been groggy all day after losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Saving. And as you struggle to remember the clock on your fucking microwave, you may have wondered: Why is this happening?”
On Sunday night, Last Week Tonight’’s John Oliver took on the controversial (and near-universally derided) Daylight Saving Time—when Americans and 69 other unfortunate countries roll back the clock an hour in the fall and jump one hour ahead in the spring, sadistically screwing with people’s internal clocks. It was the latest addition to his excellent sketch, “How Is This Still A Thing?”
No, contrary to popular belief, the practice has nothing to do with farmers. The Germans adopted it as a fuel-saving measure during World War I. And in the modern era, e.g., when Indiana adopted Daylight Saving Time in 2006, it led to a 1 percent increase in energy consumption. Oh, and studies have shown there’s an increase in car accidents and work-related injuries in the week after the time change. Yeesh.
Watch John Oliver rip Daylight Saving Time a new one on HBO’s Last Week Tonight. Preach.