John Oliver's Last Week Tonight demands to know how daylight saving time is 'still a thing'

Daylight saving time is useless, or worse, says Last Week Tonight
(Image credit: Last Week Tonight)

People tend to believe that daylight saving time has something to do with farmers, but they're wrong, says the narrator on Last Week Tonight's latest installment of the informative and hilarious "How is This Still a Thing?" segment. In fact, it was first introduced by the Germans during World War I, to save fuel. "That's right," the narrator intones, "you lost an hour of sleep this morning because of Kaiser Wilhelm."

These days, it neither saves electricity nor helps anyone — in fact, it may lead to an increase in car accidents and workplace injuries, Last Week Tonight says, citing research: "That's right, what you lose in sleep you gain in mortal danger." For more information, perspectives from around the world, wry sentences that begin with "that's right," and insults lobbed at cows, watch the video below. —Peter Weber

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.