Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique)
C.V. Kimbrell (kimbrell@pixi.com)
Sun, 30 Jul 1995 23:22:08 -1000
: >The chief problem is that 13 happens to be a prime number. This makes it
> : >mathematically impossible to subdivide a year in any satisfactory fashion.
> : >You cannot even divide such a year into the customary four seasons and
> : >hope to come out with the same number of whole months in each season.
one thing that surprised me throughout this whole string is that nobody
mentioned that
the superstitions (in both Christianity and other religions) regarding the
number 13 had a major influence on life (and the effects are still seen).
- no floor 13 in most buildings, no 13th month - once the ceasers added
theirs and there were 12 no more were added by later emperors; there is no
13 oclock; (I believe the hours only have 59 minutes because they didnt
want any specific time to be 6:66, this goes for latitude/longitude
measurements as well)
--
satire can be Pun,, uh, phun ah fun
d'oh!!
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