Voicing the question that every human asks every year when Daylight Saving Time kicks in, leaving us staggering out of bed an hour early and confused by the two remaining clocks we forgot to change, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has pondered the question of Daylight Saving Time and concluded that it’s pointless.

Most people in the video think that Daylight Saving Time exists because of farmers, but as “Last Week Tonight” points out, farmers don’t want anything to do with it, either; one farmer who was interviewed stated that he doesn’t know anyone whose farming activities benefit from Daylight Saving Time. That’s because in reality, the practice of saving daylight was instituted by the Germans during World War I to save fuel.

However, as the video points out, we no longer consume energy in the same way, and DST often leads to an increase in electricity use, as well as more car accidents and people feeling awful because they lost an hour or sleep. So why do we need Daylight Saving Time? According to “Last Week Tonight,” we don’t. Check out the video and see if you agree with its cow-related logic — and remember, what you lose in sleep, you gain in mortal danger.

Sarah Alender

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