It’s back. Another post from another Facebook friend, saying:
This month has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5 Mondays. This is called “Moneybags” and happens only once every 823 years. This is amazing good fortune gee whiz wow aren’t you lucky just post this blah blah blah.
The amazing thing is that…not only does it happen slightly more frequently than advertised; it happens like every FEW MONTHS. Don’t the people who post this notice that it sounds familiar? Like they just saw this a few months ago?
So I’ve made it my personal crusade to point this out, kindly and gently. Like “ahem…it happens in any month with 31 days that begins on a Saturday.”
But…but…but, it could be true, you fun-killer! I pass it along just in case, cause you never know. Just like that nice Nigerian Prince that is going to be sending me $8,000,000,000,000 any day now.
Come to think of it, Bill Gates is supposed to be sending me money, too.
I’ve got no beef with random BS being posted and making the rounds…but it shouldn’t be SO easily debunked. Ya know, make up something about Virgo rising at the same time an asteroid flies by.
This is like saying “the traffic light on the corner only turns yellow every 800 years, and when it does good fortune will surely come your way.”
Actually, I’m female, but if I get enough likes on my Facebook page, the doctor will perform my surgery for free. Or my parents will take me to Disney World, I forget which.
Hey everyone, check out the FB page that is giving away 412 “Disneylad ticket’s” because they sold them but they were returned and they can’t sell them back. If you like and share, you’ll be entered to win. And to be extra “lucky” note your sob story about how your grandmother has never been to Disneyland and you only need 11 tickets.
“Actually, this month has 5 Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This is called “Rectocranial Inversion” and occurs quite frequently. Your best bet is to hide under your bed until the month is over; I know I will be. Hiding under my bed, that is. Not under yours.”
It’s fascinating to me - a moment’s thought will tell you that any month with 31 days will have 5 instances of the first and last three consecutive days. That means that it happens 7 times a year. Even if the specific day is what matters - say, for instance, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday - that will happen, on average, every 13 months.
So why is it so common for people to be so distanced from reality that this 823 years seems even remotely possible? The calendar is something most people deal with on a regular basis.
The galling part to me is when one of these inane ‘lucky’ or ‘giveaway’ posts ends w/, ‘Never hurts to try!’ - yes it does, it hurts the general opinion of you as someone deserving of a vote equal to that of someone w/ mental discernment.
No, the 7 31-day-months do not start with all 7 days of the week in a given calendar year. In a non-leap year, the first day of the year will also be the first day of October, and the fifth day of the year will not be the first day of a 31-day-month for that whole calendar year. This year, Jan. 1 was a Tuesday, March 1 was a Friday, May 1 was a Wednesday, July 1 was a Monday, August 1 will be a Thursday, October 1 will be a Tuesday and Dec. 1 will be a Sunday. There are two Tuesdays and no Saturdays in that list.
In a leap year, the first day of the year will also be the first day of July, and the sixth day of the year will not be the first day of a 31-day-month for that whole calendar year. Last year Jan. 1 was a Sunday, March 1 was a Thursday, May 1 was a Tuesday, July 1 was a Sunday, Aug. 1 was a Wednesday, Oct. 1 was a Monday, Dec. 1 was a Saturday - two Sundays and no Friday that time.
So the mathematics aren’t as simple as ‘once a year’…