British expat John Oliver says cows and curtains were the main reasons for daylight savings

A comedian has received a rousing round of applause after sharing what he believes are the two main culprits for daylight savings. See what they are

When it comes to daylight saving, we’ll be arguing til the cows come home.

Literally.

Our family is currently enjoying a northern summer holiday, basking in the balmy and bright evenings that daylight-saving time (DST) brings to NYC. However, I was shocked to learn that our appreciation of the warmer weather clock change was not shared by all - or even most - Americans.

Attending a comedy night in the city starring British expat John Oliver (who once famously interviewed former Aussie PM John Howard about gun control), he received a rousing round of applause when he revealed his daylight saving disgust.

Explaining the history of the clock shift, first established in wartime to conserve fuel, Oliver railed against the continued operation of this fake time travel.

Morning Gold Coast! A sunrise greeted early risers to start the Gold Coast. Picture Glenn Hampson

As someone who has spent the last 30 years wishing our state would literally get with the (daylight saving) time, I was shocked to hear that these sun-soaked residents were turning away from the light - even if it’s not the sun they hate so much as the stress on their body clocks.

Regardless, Oliver said what he hated the most was the unreasonable excuses as to why DST was necessary.

And this was where my mind was blown … because Oliver then dropped the bomb that the biggest excuse FOR daylight saving was to protect ‘cows and curtains’.

What?

Isn’t that the exact same excuse we’ve been fed as to why we Queenslanders can’t adjust our clocks?

The Sunshine State, and particularly the Gold Coast, has been forced to exist under the shadow of the eastern seaboard’s dual timezone simply for the sake of preventing curtains from fading and confused cows from producing sour milk.

Shock result in daylight saving research

Now I find out that this ridiculous excuse has two faces? We’ve all been duped.

Look, I can understand that changing times twice a year is a punish. The toll that process takes on the body is the very reason why recent surveys show up to 70 per cent of Americans want to abolish daylight saving changes.

But what horrible timing, given that the citizens of our state are finally shifting their opinion of DST, with a 2023 University of Queensland study showing two-thirds of Queenslanders supported daylight saving.

The survey, by Dr Thomas Sigler, found even stronger support in southeast Queensland.

“Preliminary results show 67 per cent of Queenslanders are in favour,” he said. “Anything north of Bundaberg and west of Toowoomba, cut that out and 80 per cent are in favour.”

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has also come out in strong favour, saying that since the state voted against the DST proposal in a 1992 referendum, the Queensland population had grown by two million, with many coming from daylight-loving states. Not to mention our duelling dual times costs Queensland $4bn annually.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture Glenn Hampson

So what if we just agreed to move our clocks forward by an hour permanently? After all, it’s the change that people hate … so let’s abolish that.

I’ll take a dark winter morning if it gives me a longer day. There’s a reason why we’re holidaying over here in America during our GC winter … it might be mild and mostly sunny, but that 4.57pm June sunset is downright depressing.

And just imagine the joy of a summer sunrise that doesn’t arrive before 4.41am.

All of this without ever having to switch our clocks or daily schedules.

Unfortunately, my plan has a fatal flaw, according to scientists, who generally advocate for permanent standard time (or ST) because it better aligns our lives with the sun year-round.

In fact, the German newspaper Die Welt quoted pioneering chronobiologist and sleep researcher Till Roenneberg warning that permanent DST would make Europeans “dicker, dümmer und grantiger” (fatter, dumber, and grumpier).

But hey, Aussies are better than that.

Surely it’s high time we try a change.

What’s the worst that can happen? We can always change back if necessary.

Don’t have a cow, man.