From: m (mt_2@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Dec 11 1999 - 04:03:01 MST
--- hal@finney.org wrote:
> > AFAIK (and according to specialists) the first
> century
> > DID have 100 years, from 1 A.D. to 100 A.D.. The
> 2nd
> > century went from 201 to 300, etc.
>
> So how long was the first decade, and when did the
> current decade begin?
The first deacde had ten years;
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 AD !
c/f centuries;
1,2,...,99,100 1st
101,102,...,199,200 2nd
etc
This, the *tenth* decade of the century, began in
1991.
I realise this contradicts the usage we ALL make, with
the "90's" beginning in 1990, like calling year's the
first of the "1800's","2000's" etc.
A little thing I'd never considered before :)
I realise isn't neat or intuitive, it's just what's
necessary to keep the numbering consistent with a
calendar invented before they used "0".
hmmm..
mike
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