# A new proposal for how to make days of the week correspond consistently with dates **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127 "2023-09-14T22:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/21 "2023-09-15T03:34:55Z")
And ancient pagan names for the months, and ancient pagan lengths for the week and months… about the only Christian contribution was numbering the years, until the Gregorian calendar modifications were incorporated. I’m not sure when the 60-minute hour was introduced. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/22 "2023-09-15T03:35:29Z")
The Babylonians. They liked base 60. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/23 "2023-09-15T03:40:46Z")
True, but the Roman hour varied by season, and thry were long after Baylon. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/24 "2023-09-15T03:47:48Z")
As a sidebar to this discussion, I found it easy to learn the Welsh days of the week once I realised that they were cognates to the French days of the week, which I assume are descended from the Gaulish days of the week? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/25 "2023-09-15T04:02:27Z")
From Latin. Latin - French diēs Lūnae - lundi (Monday) diēs Mārtis - mardi (Tuesday) diēs Mercuriī - mercredi (Wednesday) diēs Iovis - jeudi (Thursday) diēs Veneris - vendredi (Friday) diēs Sāturnī - samedi (Saturday) diēs Sōlis - dimanche (Sunday) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/26 "2023-09-15T04:18:36Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wouldn’t the [13 month calendar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fixed_Calendar) be easier? Personally I prefer the 365 month calendar where every day is the first of the month. We could have a vote for the names of the new 353 months required. Of course we would use _Leap_ as a month once every 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/27 "2023-09-15T04:22:06Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I honestly believe it would be easier to move the earth to a different orbit and make the year 364 days. Don’t exaggerate, we only have to slow the rotation of the earth about its own axis slightly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/28 "2023-09-15T04:28:16Z")
Why go through all this effort just to reinforce the system that 12-fingered alien slavers imposed on us? Base 10 all the way. My days are 100 kiloseconds, my weeks are 1 megasecond, and my years are 100 megaseconds. We can fix the orbital mechanics later. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/29 "2023-09-15T04:29:19Z")
Personally, I think weeks go by really quickly, so I’d be up for extending them by a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/30 "2023-09-15T04:43:53Z")
No—borrowed from Latin during the Roman occupation of Britain. Edit: dies lunae \> dydd llun, while the literal translation would be dydd y lleuad. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/31 "2023-09-15T04:45:51Z")
While we are duscussing changing calendars - what about time? Let’s move modnight to 4 am (our transit system does this internally - their day starts at 4 am, using a 24-hour clock running from 0400 to 2759). Why split a day when a lot of people are still awake? (It would make a long New Years Eve, however). ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/32 "2023-09-15T10:54:42Z")
What I don’t understand is this twenty-eight day deal for February. Who’s responsible for that? Bump it up to thirty, and take a day away from two of the thirty-one dayers. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/33 "2023-09-15T11:18:47Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why must days of the week correspond to calendar dates? There would be advantages to this, but there would also be disadvantages. Do you want your birthday to be always on a Monday? This proposal, to me, smacks of [“There are too many states nowadays. Please eliminate three. I am _not_ a crackpot.”](https://youtu.be/O5dmxBUbzBU) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/34 "2023-09-15T11:52:41Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The Babylonians. They liked base 60. Huh! Here I always thought it was the Greeks . . . > [@dirtball](#): > > What I don’t understand is this twenty-eight day deal for February. Who’s responsible for that? I thought _that_ was the Romans. One day the local haruspex bee-bops over to Ceasar and says “Hey Boss, the fourtunes tell me we’re a little long on the calendar. Stars aren’t aligning, and the Nile’s been flooding earlier and earlier each year. What do we do?” Ceasar, after licking his garum-soaked fingers during a Gaul-prepared potato-stick feast, say lack-of-thoughtfully, “Meh, take a couple of days off of the end of next month.” So the haruspex goes to the regional prefect and Legion generals, and says, “The boss said to take a couple of days off next month.” The prefect and generals look at each other, shrug, and tell their Legions, "Yo guys, kick back and go for a vacation on Feb 29th & 30th. Go eat some bread and watch some gladiators–Boss Boss’ orders. And pass the word to those guys up North in Brittania too . . . " So, everyone in the frontier takes a vacation from manning forts and the walls. Everyone in Rome just omits a few days from the end of the month. With nobody guarding the border and mass confusion on what day it _should_ be, Vandals come through an’ start heading south, blue-faced William Wallace shows up on a canal boat in Venice, Rome falls, and Bob’s yer uncle. The Western world falls into the Dark Ages all because of a misunderstanding that we’re _still_ stuck with. Tripler Yep, that’s _exactly_ how it happened–I saw it on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/35 "2023-09-15T11:52:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This proposal, to me, smacks of [“There are too many states nowadays. Please eliminate three. I am _not_ a crackpot.”](https://youtu.be/O5dmxBUbzBU) “I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah!” ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/36 "2023-09-15T12:15:04Z")
I would like to see someone tell that story on _Drunk History_. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/37 "2023-09-15T12:34:15Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > we would add a full week to the end of the year, bringing back December 31 as well as adding December 32 through 37 🎶 On the 18th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… 🎶 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/38 "2023-09-15T14:18:46Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > While we are duscussing changing calendars - what about time? Let’s move modnight to 4 am (our transit system does this internally - their day starts at 4 am, using a 24-hour clock running from 0400 to 2759). Why split a day when a lot of people are still awake? (It would make a long New Years Eve, however). No no no. To avoid daylight saving we adjust the time so that sunrise is at 5:00pm every day. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/39 "2023-09-15T15:40:21Z")
[Very likely the astronomer royal](https://youtu.be/XXhJKzI1u48?si=vIyAoDoyna1AEADB&t=2m19s). (It was the Romans, in reality.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127/40 "2023-09-15T16:06:11Z")
Yes, part of the Julian reforms. The pre-Julian calendar was a bit of a mess, with lots of intercalation months and days, that were subject to political interference to extend or shorten the terms of offices of politicians. Setting aside intercalations, the pre-Julian calendar had 355 days, which meant it would drift from the seasons. It also only had 10 months, originally. The winter period did not have months. January and February were late additions to the pre-Julian calendar. Prior to the reforms, January, April, June, Sextilis (August), September, November and December had 29 days. February had 28. March, May, Quintilis (July), and October had 31 days. Caesar ordered that the calendar would be enlarged to 365 days, increasing January, August and December by 2 days each, and April, June, September and November by 1 day each, for a total of 10 days. February having 28 days wasn’t originally so odd, given the number of months with 29 days. Why he didn’t increase February by a day or two is not known, but it may be a holdover from the fact that the winter hadn’t had any months originally, and February was a latecomer to the calendar. Poor February. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-proposal-for-how-to-make-days-of-the-week-correspond-consistently-with-dates/990127.md?page=3)