Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique)

Kristin Rachael Hayward (hayward@cs.uchicago.edu)
Tue, 25 Jul 1995 19:36:48 GMT

In article <12251@raven.ukc.ac.uk> rst@ukc.ac.uk (R.S.Thomas) writes:
: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.

You know, it always upsets me when clever people, even someone like
R.S.Thomas from one of my alma maters (UKC), assume that there are
four seasons. Maybe for those of you lucky enough to live in climes
whereblack flies are not the state bird, but here in Maine we get just
two seasons, summer, which occurs on July 16 and part of the 17th,
and winter which lasts the rest of the time. Unfortunately, it
rained this summer, and we missed it.

:)

-- 

                     Dr. Kristin Rachael Hayward

    Director of Administrative Information Systems and Business Services

                        University of Maine 

                http://www.umeais.maine.edu/~hayward