John Oliver Attempts To Brief The Emerging Cicadas On The Past 17 Years

The Northeast is about to experience an influx of literally billions of cicadas later this month, which have been underground since 1999 in a 17-year life cycle. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was on hiatus this week. However, in a short web exclusive, Oliver has a message for our new cicada overlords to fill them in on what’s been going on for the past 17 years.

(Or as he points out, if these cicadas are anything like humans conceived in 1999, all of the girl cicadas will be named “Madison” and all of the boy cicadas will be named “Tyler.”)

The world is a much different place than it was 17 years ago, so these cicadas need a lot of catching up in a little time, starting with the fact that we are not, in fact, calling the new millennium the “Willennium.” He covers all the usual bases, from politics (“we voted in a second President Bush by a narrow margin, and rejected a third President Bush by an enormous margin”) to technology, sports, and, music — the latter might come as a surprise to the cicadas that they need to get on their cicada knees to bow before Queen Bey.

But on a final, and possibly sad note, Oliver asks the cicadas to enjoy their time on Earth, because depending how things go in November, this planet might not be around in another 17 years.

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