toes that won't stay warm in the duck blind
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toes that won't stay warm in the duck blind
Good old Memorial Gym
There wasn't a year zero. When 1 B.C. ended, 1 A.D. started.
At the end of the year 1 AD, we had finished a year and could start the next one. At the end of year 2 AD, we had finished 2 years. At the end of year 10, we had finished 10 years (and could start a new decade - on Jan 1., year 11).
No, because the first year of the decade would have already passed. I know it's wierd, but years count 0-9 for 10 years, not 1-0. Right now, it is 2010, because 2010 years have already passed and we are in the midst of the 2011 year.
then why shouldn't we say that we are currently in our 2011th year?
We can. It just sounds stupid. I'm not the one that makes these decisions! But, as has been said, it did 't start with 0, it started with 1. So, every year after followed the same format. 0=1. 2010=2011. crazy.
Me, too. It's a peeve, but you've got to choose your battles and that isn't a hill worth dying on.
I just tell myself that you can count any ten years as a decade if you want. I read somewhere recently that even grouping decades together as a whole is a relatively new phenomenon.
Although he makes the mistake we've been talking about here (assuming a decade that started in 2000), here is the article I was talking about. It's about what to call the last ten years (as a nickname).
http://www.slate.com/id/2239014/
Prior to the 20th century, no one really cared about this problem. In fact, it wasn't common for English speakers to refer to decades in groups—like "the '40s" or "the '50s"—until the mid- to late 19th century.