# Its 2019, are Roman Numerals used anywhere other than the Super Bowl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914 "2019-02-03T22:51:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/21 "2019-02-04T16:16:40Z")
Some network call letters are essentially the Roman Numeral equivalent of their dial number – or, at least, used to be. So WXXI in Rochester, NY is Public Television Channel 21, and WLVI in Boston used to be independent TV station channel 56 (which is now the CW affiliate). Or KXXV is Channel 25 (ABC) in Waco, Texas. edited to add: WLXI, Channel 61 in Greensboro, NC WVII channel 7 in Bangor, ME WXII Channel 12 (NBC) in Winston-Salem NC WXIX Channel 19 (FOX) in Newport, KY WXXV Channel 25 (FOX) in Gulfport MI ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/22 "2019-02-05T02:25:55Z")
[Super League](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-league/0/super-league-xxiv-team-guide-marquee-stars-nrl-latest-ins-outs/) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/23 "2019-02-05T07:52:45Z")
I used to see movies advertised as restricted for thirty year olds and up in Times Square, that stopped sometime in the late 1990s though. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/24 "2019-02-05T12:46:24Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I used to see movies advertised as restricted for thirty year olds and up in Times Square, that stopped sometime in the late 1990s though. Yeah. Weird thing is that they never advertised movies for 21 year olds or 40 year olds. Although a few films showed surprisingly sexy-looking films for ten year olds. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/25 "2019-02-05T13:51:52Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > The BBC still dates TV production years in Roman numerals: MMXIX Yes, for British people this is the main place we see Roman numerals: at the end of TV shows. Of course, it was harder to decipher them when I was a kid back in MCMLXXXVIII. These kids of the MMs have it easy. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/26 "2019-02-05T13:54:56Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Oddly, and for no legal reason, in the little copyright fine print in movies. Also in the designation of army corps. II Corps (and so on) is by convention pronounced “Two-Corps.” And despite what M_A_S\*H would have you believe, I Corps (America’s Corps!) is never pronounced “Eye Corps.” ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/27 "2019-02-05T14:02:22Z")
Watchmakers still love Roman numerals, and still use the modified ‘watchmakers IIII’ instead of IV because reasons. . ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/28 "2019-02-05T18:52:25Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Next year’s Super Bowl should be dedicated to LIV Tyler. All the players should have been naked for Super Bowl XXX. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/29 "2019-02-05T19:02:05Z")
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has moved to “DSM-5” rather than “DSM-V.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/30 "2019-02-05T19:42:17Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > All the players should have been naked for Super Bowl XXX. And they should have only allowed really big players in Super Bowl XL. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/31 "2019-02-05T21:53:33Z")
Some languages other than English use them for the numbers of centuries, for some road numbers (mainly very low numbers on very important roads)… Often, people whose original language is one of those will do it in English. And it doesn’t seem to be terribly shocking, since you can do it for years of living in an English-speaking country without anybody thinking of mentioning it. My Spanish-to-English translation teacher used the centuries thing as a shibboleth to discover and give low grades to the non-Anglos in her second exam, after being absurdly shocked when the best grades in the first had all gone to foreigners (six Spaniards, one Greek). Proving that “it’s not possible to perform a good translation into a language that’s not your native tongue” was more important than actually teaching, but hey, we discovered a little detail nobody had bothered to mention before. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/32 "2019-02-06T14:06:21Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > there is that famous guy Malcolm ten. 🙂 When Roman medics needed an IV, did they call out for a four?\* > [@bibliophage](#): > > I thought Cecil wrote a column about why copyright dates in movies are (or were) in Roman numerals. It was, as I recall, to obscure from the viewer that they were watching a re-release of an old movie instead of a new one. If Cecil did write such a column, I can’t find it now. I remember that, too and like you, can’t find it either. I remember seeing the MM copyright dates and thinking how odd they looked. \*Stolen from George Carlin. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/33 "2019-02-06T14:27:09Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Some network call letters are essentially the Roman Numeral equivalent of their dial number – or, at least, used to be. So WXXI in Rochester, NY is Public Television Channel 21, and WLVI in Boston used to be independent TV station channel 56 (which is now the CW affiliate). Or KXXV is Channel 25 (ABC) in Waco, Texas. > edited to add: > > WLXI, Channel 61 in Greensboro, NC > > WVII channel 7 in Bangor, ME > > WXII Channel 12 (NBC) in Winston-Salem NC > > WXIX Channel 19 (FOX) in Newport, KY > > WXXV Channel 25 (FOX) in Gulfport MI WPXI Channel 11 in Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/34 "2019-02-09T01:46:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And they should have only allowed really big players in Super Bowl XL. “4th and 12 at the 45 yard line. Should we kick a field goal, or punt?” “Neither–gotta go for it. We had to leave the kickers off the game roster, new rule just for this year’s title game.” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/35 "2019-02-09T02:13:04Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > And despite what M_A_S\*H would have you believe, I Corps (America’s Corps!) is never pronounced “Eye Corps.” It certainly was in 1968 in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/36 "2019-02-09T03:06:44Z")
They are sometimes used for months in date notation. I know it is common to do so in Hungary, where today’s date could be notated as 2019.II.8. Arabic numerals can also be used, but that was the notation that I saw commonly in letters and is a habit I picked up as well (along with the big endian method of writing the date out.) I have a feeling I’ve seen Roman numerals for months in other countries, but I can’t say for certain beyond Hungary. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/37 "2019-02-09T09:31:11Z")
They’re used that way sometimes in Spanish; enough to be understandable, not enough to be considered common. You’ll do it as part of some fancy document, or for clarity to make sure than everybody can tell if you’re using DD-MM or MM-DD. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/38 "2019-02-09T12:48:19Z")
I’ve seen the month as a roman numeral in German documents. Made sense to me as you’ll never get above XII unlike, say, XXVIII 10 2019 In a similar vein, I was taught in the Navy to remove ambiguity bu using the three letter abbreviation\* for the month: 09 FEB 2019 \*The government, particularly the military _loves_ those TLAs. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/39 "2019-02-09T14:07:33Z")
Oh, yes, it was also quite customary to use three-letter abbreviations in Hungarian documents. Probably more common than the Roman numerals. So today’s date could be: 2019.2.9 or 2019.II.9 or 2019.feb.9 or 2019.február.9. (“March” gets _marc_ and “September” gets _szept_, but the others are three-letter.) Now, the Roman numeral version wasn’t the most common, but it was common enough that it made an impression on me. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914/40 "2019-02-09T15:06:52Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > General use? Clock dials… Interestingly I considered starting a thread a week or so ago about this. I ran across a clock face with Roman numerals that had a weird ten: [The Fall of Roman Numerals — Steve Lovelace](http://steve-lovelace.com/the-fall-of-roman-numerals/) Big Ben has this too. I couldn’t find any other examples other than clock faces. Is it a particular “font” or is it a clockmaker invention? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-2019-are-roman-numerals-used-anywhere-other-than-the-super-bowl/828914.md?page=3)