Why is there so much hype about January 1, 2000 if the millennium doesn’t really begin until January 1,2001?
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Because Prince’s song was about 1999 and 2000 not 2000 and 2001.
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Because people love nice round numbers especially ones that end in zeros.
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Because the vast majority of people are stupid and the media gives them what the want.
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Because the party people figure they can get a big party this year and again next year without really having to produce more Millennium crap.
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Because in the 99 years since the Post published that 1901 was the start of the next century, people have become dumber.
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Because we like to hype every silly thing.
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Because of the Y2K issues that have gone around, people figure that 2000 will indeed be a big event.
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Because we have nothing better to do with our time (we don’t need to worry about tax reform, Nuclear missles in the hands of dangerous leaders, China taking over control of the Panama Canal, etc.)
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There will likely be a lot of hype this time next year talking about the new millennium.
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I don’t really have a number 10 answer, but it seemed like stopping at 9 was incomplete.
Jeffery
Gee, Jeffrey, that is possibly the most complete explanation of this phenomenon I have ever seen. Thanks.
StrTrkr777:
5) Because in the 99 years since the Post published that 1901 was the start of the next century, people have become dumber.
Are you talking about the Washington Post? If so, read on. (Read on anyways if it isn’t :))
The Washington Post has a column called “THE CENTURY IN THE POST - Excerpts from “the first rough draft of history” as reported in The Washington Post on this date in the 20th century.”. All the stories have been interesting. But a handful of them have been from the year 1900. <rant>But that was in the 19th century!</rant>
Maybe their motto should be “Creating ignorance since 1877”. 
<small>Oops, forgot to turn off my bolding in that last post. 
Because ANY group of a thousand consecutive years constitute a millenium.
Sure any thousand years is a millennium, but the the next millennium offically starts in 2001, right? So why doesn’t the media recogize that?
The next millennium will start on Jan 1, 2000.
The previous one started Jan 1, 1000.
The one before that started Jan 1, 1 BC.
It’s not our fault that some idiot 1400 years ago didn’t know that there is a “0” between +1 and -1.
I disagree with that. There was no year Zero.
Ruggles, there wasn’t a year 1 either. Now a year 2. It took several hundred years till they started using this system.
I realize that once they did start using this system, they left out a year 0, but my point is that the system is so arbitrary that I can’t figure out why people are insisting on following the idea of waiting till 2001.
correction: “Nor a year 2.”
And what did you mean by (emphasis mine)
No one owns the millenium. There are no officials in charge. “M&M” candy calls itself “The Official Candy of the Millenium”, and no one can stop them, because - ironically enough - there’s no official candy!
BTW, speaking of ancient stuff–
I have a rare Roman coin that I got for a bargain.
The date on it is 45 BC! Now that’s old.
The seller want $500 for it, but I got him to come down to $400!
Now, am I good or what.
All I’m saying is that as far as I know the millennium starts on Jan. 1, 2001. That’s by the calendar. But it seems like everyone wants to celebrate it in 2000 because it’s a nice round number, and because we’ve been brought up to believe in the the mystery of the year 2000.
For the date impaired, its 2001.
Hey, fancy that, why not go see the video ‘2001?’
Mad magazine called it ‘2001 minutes of space idiocy.’
Oh, come on. Who are you gonna believe, Stephen Jay Gould and Cecil Adams, or me? I’ll give you some hints. Dr. Gould and Cecil Adams are really smart, shockingly smart in fact, and they think the new millennium starts at 00/01. I am hosting a 7 hour open bar at 99/00, for which you risk being a whole year late. Decide quickly!
Livin’ on Tums, Vitamin E and Rogaine
Don’t be a pedant.
It doesn’t matter when the millenium starts, it matters when you are going to be able to go to a reasonably fun party. I’m throwing a party this year, but I know the “millenium” starts next year. The thing is, I know that this is the time to party because of the zeroes! So, take your pedantry and go sulk somewhere on December 31st.
You guys missed the party, I’m afraid. Jesus, it turns out, was born about 4, uh, BC. The Millennium was in 1996.
What do you mean, that doesn’t count? It’s just as arbitrary as the rest of this crap!
“That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler
Let us not forget the switching of calenders to the Julian or Gregorian they were chopping off days to balace the calender then. Where did those days go??? If we use the Julian Calender when will the millennium be?? Moslems could care less??
StrTrkr777:
Personally, I like nice round numbers that end in “3.”
manhattan:
Earlier this year, Dr. Gould published a compelling argument for observing the millennium on 1/1/2000.
Markxxx:
My Muslim friends go with 1/1/01, but they see it more as an American cultural phenomenon than a religious thing.
As for me, I’m with douglips. Time is an abstraction, and not easily measured under any circumstances. There are serious questions about the accuracy of the current system, and I find it amusing that people insist on applying scientific accuracy to what is essentially a religous belief. No one appreciates the difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers, and in this case, the mistake is 1/10th of 1%. If that margin of error offends you, then you have my sympathies.
(There’s a really good web site that lists about half a dozen reasons why this whole 2000/2001 question is pretty silly. I’m on the road and away from my bookmarks; if I remember, I’ll post it next week.)
Now, let’s party like it’s…um…now! 