Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique)
John Wilkins (wilkins@wehi.edu.au)
Wed, 26 Jul 1995 13:34:20 +1000
In article <12251@raven.ukc.ac.uk>, rst@ukc.ac.uk (R.S.Thomas) wrote:
: In article <souters-2507951326190001@mac2lvl2-3s.edfac.usyd.edu.au>,
: Stephen Souter <souters@mackie.edfac.usyd.edu.au> wrote:
: >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.
:
: Easy, you make autumn, winter and spring four months and summer
: five. With more good weather, everyone will be happy. Except
: those in the Southern hemisphere of course since our summer is
: their winter.
Which reminds me of the objections back in the 60s about daylight saving,
that the extra hours of sunlight were fading the curtains...
--
John "Chris" Wilkins, Assoc. Prof. of Recent Runes, Uni of Ediacara
(Also: Head of Communication Services, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)
http://www.wehi.edu.au/~wilkins/www.html
What the Gospels actually said was: don't kill anyone until you are absolutely sure they aren't well connected - Vonnegurt, Slaughterhouse 5
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