# Date Formats -  mm/dd/yy vs dd/mm/yy

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921 "2004-06-12T01:58:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921/21 "2004-06-13T11:03:09Z")

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> [@Airman Doors](#):
>
> I use military standards for both date and time, and I invariably catch hell for doing so. You’d think that if I wrote down 12 Jun 04, 1659 it would be easy to figure out. Alas, they can’t, so I have to change everything to suit their lack of math skills.

I see **cckerberos** has answered **flapcats** question, but still–“math skills”? Math has little to do with it, I think.

And **Mangetout** has a good point, I think. I would sooner put the month before the day, for all sorts of reasons. And the year before them–unfortunately, both systems in contention put it last.

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**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921/22 "2004-06-14T11:41:25Z")

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> [@hhf12345](#):
>
> Why did the mm/dd/yy format for writing dates become the standard in the U.S., as compared to the dd/mm/yy format in most of the rest of the world?

Minor nitpick: I’m in Hungary right now and all the official forms ask for yyyy/mm/dd.

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**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921/23 "2004-06-14T11:51:22Z")

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This has been discussed a number of times before [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251482), [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=236505) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=195544).

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-formats-mm-dd-yy-vs-dd-mm-yy/249921/24 "2004-06-14T11:57:39Z")

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> [@flapcats](#):
>
> Here in the UK someone will say ‘The thirteenth of June two thousand and four’  
> Where as across the pond they’d say ‘June thirteenth two thousand **and** four’

(emphasis mine)

Silly nitpick: it is my impression that Americans tend to exclude the highlighted ‘and’.  
Needless to say, this is _just another_ area (aluminium, couldn’t care less, etc) where most people on either side think that most people on the other side are just being obtuse.

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