# 2010 is the LAST year of the decade(lame) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273 "2010-01-01T07:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/1 "2010-01-01T07:10:20Z")
Saying 2009 is the last year of the decade winds me up. The newspapers the newshows all did it. Just like 2000 was the last year of the century. I tell you they would lose on Jepoardy not knowing when a century and decade starts. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/2 "2010-01-01T07:15:04Z")
> **[Year Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=545658)** > > C’mon Cecil, I feel certain that you know the details. Why withhold them from your readers? An argument can certainly be made that decades, centuries, millennia begin in the year ending with “1” (1991, 1901, 2001) just after the odometer rolls... ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/3 "2010-01-01T07:40:10Z")
Yeah, it’s a new decade. It just turns out the first decade had -1 in it. Since nobody even used this numbering system until several hundred years later, it’s all a bunch of fuck-to-do-with-anything. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/4 "2010-01-01T07:45:50Z")
Technically yes, but in common usage you are wrong. For labeling purposes we name decades based on the 3rd digit in the 4 digit year. 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, etc. So this really is a new decade, in the terms of how popular culture thinks of decades. I think you already knew that though, and are being intentionally obtuse to prove what a fucking pedant you are. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/5 "2010-01-01T07:49:16Z")
No, decades don’t work like centuries. There are reasons why this century began on January 1, 2001, but those reasons don’t apply to decades. Decades are simply ten years that have the third digit in common. So the 90s were from 1990-1999, and the 00s were from 2000-2009. We are now beginning a new decade. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/6 "2010-01-01T07:53:03Z")
This argument pisses me off. It’s stupid and always perpetuated by idiots who think that things start with “1”. They don’t. They start with zero. And don’t give me the Jesus was born in year whatever. We guessed at his age anyway. You measure anything, it starts at zero. And, on this subject, my rage burns like the light of a billion sputtering matchsticks with maybe a few lightning bugs thrown in. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/7 "2010-01-01T07:56:22Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > This argument pisses me off. It’s stupid and always perpetuated by idiots who think that things start with “1”. They don’t. They start with zero. Imagine your odometer/trip meter starts at zero. If your odometer/trip meter reads 0.5, what mile are you in? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/8 "2010-01-01T08:00:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Imagine your odometer/trip meter starts at zero. If your odometer/trip meter reads 0.5, what mile are you in? 800 yards? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/9 "2010-01-01T08:01:36Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > 800 yards? 1. But that’s the distance you’ve travelled. What mile are you in? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/10 "2010-01-01T08:03:39Z")
**JohnnyLA** , I know what you are getting at, but if your daughter is 6 months old,… is she “1”? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/11 "2010-01-01T08:03:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Year Zero - Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=545658) Thanks:) ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/12 "2010-01-01T08:04:24Z")
It’s rubbish, though. This is more like buying a used car that already has a bunch of miles on it. When the numbers roll over, you still say, hey, they rolled over. You weren’t actually driving for all of those miles and you don’t even remember where it was when you bought the car. You just like those zeroes at the end. And if your passenger wants to have a big blah blah blah about it, just turn up the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/13 "2010-01-01T08:04:38Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > **JohnnyLA** , I know what you are getting at, but if you’re daughter is 6 months old,… is she “1”? Of course she isn’t. But as your vehicle is in the first mile, your daughter is in her first year. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/14 "2010-01-01T08:11:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Of course she isn’t. But as your vehicle is in the first mile, your daughter is in her first year. right. So starting from year zero is the _first_ year. 2010 is the _first_ year of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/15 "2010-01-01T08:14:51Z")
There was no year zero, so the odometer metaphor doesn’t work. It’s like buying a car that starts at 1. But the odometer thing doesn’t work, because it’s not like the world was created in year one, or we even started counting in year 1. We aren’t really counting off complete decades. We’re just saying, ooh, zero. Shiny. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/16 "2010-01-01T08:19:58Z")
BTW, Astronomers call 1 BC “0”. If we all did that, we could put this whole fucking thing to bed and party instead of bickering. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/17 "2010-01-01T08:22:46Z")
I’m drunk. Happy new year. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/18 "2010-01-01T08:25:57Z")
Very lame. 2000 may have been the last year of the century, but it was also the first year of the decade–the year zero. And 2010 is the year zero of the next decade. Why is this hard? We’re in the first year of the decade, but we don’t call it “year one” of the decade. Even halfway through, it will still end in 0 and be the first year. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/19 "2010-01-01T08:26:17Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > right. So starting from year zero is the _first_ year. 2010 is the _first_ year of the decade. Not quite. We say _in_ the year. Since the interval between zero and one is _in_ the first year, it is Year One. Not Year Zero. A decade is ten full years. From the start of Year One (point zero) to the end of the first year is one year. To the end of the second year is two years; and so on until you reach the _end_ of the 10th year. A year hasn’t passed until a year as _passed_. Thus ten years haven’t passed until ten years have passed. This is different from the 00s, teens, 20s, etc. In those cases the ‘era’ is dependent on the tens digit. But a decade will not have passed until the tenth year, so the first decade of the first Century did not end until ten years have passed (31 December 0010/1 January 0011) and the first decade of the 21st Century will not have passed until next year. Again, the difference is between _being_ year X, and being _in_ the year X. A ten-year old child is ten years old; but she is _in_ her 11th year. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273/20 "2010-01-01T08:33:53Z")
2000-2001: Year one of the 00s. 2001-2002: Year two. … 2009-2010: Year ten. Where’s the problem? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-is-the-last-year-of-the-decade-lame/523273.md?page=2)