h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Some years do seem to have a lot more Friday the 13ths.

No doubt this is because we have for far too long ignored
the common sense proposition to have a 13 month calendar
based on the 28 day lunar cycle.

Instead of getting in touch with Cosmic Reality we stick to the
old ways with uneven months named to honour Greek Gods
and Roman Emperors.

Remember that old mnemonic ditty about the months, which
reminds us that some months have "30 days and all the rest
have 31; except February..."?

So some years it lines up so that it seems that an unusual
number of these 'many months' have a 13th falling on Friday.

I bet there's an algorithm for that.


~jwf~

Yes, it's Zeller's Congruence.

Forgot to mention that already this year
we've had a 13th in January, April and July.

No, no, no need to look it up. Trust me.


~jwf~

Zeller? Who or what is a Zeller?
Over here it used to be a chain of low-end department stores.

And Congruence sounds kinda dirty to me.
Is a Zeller Congruence like the Missionary Position?
Or a Dirty Harry or a... oops! We almost started a thread
for listing the colourful terms for assorted acts of sexual
preversions !


~jwf~

After googling Zeller's Congruence I hit a link
to the Doomsday Rule which blows my mind.

Apparently Lewis Carrol was working on a perpetual
calendar algorithm and inspired some guy named Conway
to observe that "each year has a certain day of the week
(the doomsday) upon which certain easy-to-remember dates
fall; for example, 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12, and the last
day of February will all occur on the same day of
the week in any given year."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_rule

He goes on to suggest the days of the week be re-named:

"Oneday, Twosday, Treblesday, Foursday, Fiveday, Six-a-day
and Noneday".

I mean, I like it, but it'll never happen so long as the tyranny of
democracy means the numerically superior Christians are in charge.
The Church-goers aint gonna let God's day be renamed Noneday!

~jwf~

God's day to Noneday? Well, Sunday and Moonday don't work too often so OK.

I have to object, thogh, over Twosday and Fivesday. They ought to be Binday and Fish&Chipday.

Hey, my binday is Twosday too.
Used to be Foursday but they changed it.

I'm really starting to like these new names - If you
say them out loud a few times they kinda grow on ya.
Still not sure about Sixaday but I'm starting to get
the feel for Trebleday. (Wodin's Day and all that.)
Nunday, Oneday, Twosday, Foursday and Fiveday all
really work fine.

~jwf~

PS: Happy Fiveday the Threeteenth.

Thanks, but too late. It's been Sixaday the fourteenth for 8 hours and 9 minutes.

Antipodeans, honestly. However, that should put it in perspective.

I always make up my mind that Friday the 13th is my especially lucky day, and proceed from there.

"He goes on to suggest the days of the week be re-named: 'Oneday, Twosday, Treblesday, Foursday, Fiveday, Six-a-day and Noneday'" [jwf]

Are there no Thingites in this thread? I shudder to think of the ramifications should they get wind of these attempts to rethink the days of the week. Maybe it would be better not to tempt fate.

It'd never work... here at least... It'd be like going metric all over again.... so whilst half the population would use the new names... and dates, and monts... half the rest would be using the old ones... The Tax office would use one system, the schools another, and the rest would be a strange odd mix of both, muddles up and the wrong way round...

You are right.

Now, how many people think Friday the 13th is unlucky?

Unlucky? Nope... I didn't even notice it was Friday the 13th, until I spotted this thread... I made baguettes... probably the best I've ever made, so no sign of bad luck occuring round here People make their own luck... whether bad or good... Fear not the date, only fear your altered actions given the date.

I'm not superstitious about 13 - my maternal grandfather was born on 13/7 and if he hadn't been born I wouldn't be here. My mother-in-law *was* superstitious about 13. She dreaded Friday 13th. It could be said that she was right - she had a CT scan on Friday 13th some years ago. The scan (together with some other tests) showed that she had cancer which couldn't be treated. I know the scan and test results would have shown the same thing no matter when they were done, but 'Mum' would have been adamant that the date had something to do with it- if she'd been in a fit state to care!