# The most useless accessory in my car is now even more useless **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612 "2012-03-03T01:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/41 "2012-05-09T23:30:56Z")
Just make sure that no one is inside (or even near) that car at midnight! Time warps can be nasty things. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/42 "2012-05-10T00:06:33Z")
“…and **Shoeless** was never heard from again.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/43 "2012-05-10T11:45:12Z")
I woke up to a bright flash of light and a dull roaring noise, and went outside to see a swirling vortex in the driveway where my car used to be… 😃 Seriously though… Just for reference, here’s a photo of [FEB 99](http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh555/Shoeless62/050912061258.jpg) from yesterday. And here’s what it looks like [today](http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh555/Shoeless62/051012062626.jpg). Not at all what I was expecting. It looks like it is trying it’s best to go to 100. FEB [sup]0[/sup]0. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/44 "2012-05-10T13:16:21Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > And here’s what it looks like [today](http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh555/Shoeless62/051012062626.jpg). Not at all what I was expecting. > > It looks like it is trying it’s best to go to 100. FEB [sup]0[/sup]0. Har! That’s priceless. You need to send Hyundai a link to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/45 "2012-05-10T15:23:26Z")
Hmm, possible explanations… Your Hyundai was built in an alternate reality, where February never ends Or it was made in the South Korea on Mondas, Earth’s twin planet Maybe it was made on Bizzaro Earth, in Bizzaro South Korea Or perhaps it’s just a bug in the clock/calender software, but that’s the hardest one to believe, gotta be one of the other three… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/46 "2012-05-10T15:51:37Z")
I had something similar happen on my non-Y2K compliant version of Quicken back in the day. Every thing worked fine except they put a weird symbol where the first zero of the year should have been. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/47 "2012-05-10T17:32:34Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Har! That’s priceless. You need to send Hyundai a link to this thread. I already have. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/48 "2012-05-10T17:37:50Z")
So tomorrow it will read FEB half-zero 1? Please keep us updated! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/49 "2012-05-10T23:59:20Z")
I can make an educated guess as to what’s happening with the display. I’m guessing that the two devices that display the two digits of the date each take an 8 bit value as input and use a lookup table to determine what segments to light. Input values of 1 to 9 would be displayed accordingly. Higher values may be used for other characters that a designer might want to display. In this case 10 is used for a degree symbol. At least I think what’s displaying is a degree symbol. It makes sense since displays like this are sometimes used to show temperatures. I’m going to predict that tomorrow, the least significant digit (the one on our right) will be one and that the other one will remain as it is. The leftmost “digit” will then remain as it is while the rightmost digit will continue incrementing each day until it hits 9. Then it will change to 0 and the leftmost will change to some other character or maybe go completely blank. You’re fortunate the car didn’t travel to 1955 when it displayed 88. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/50 "2012-05-11T00:19:49Z")
At least it’s shown itself useful as entertainment ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/51 "2012-05-11T03:57:41Z")
This thread is making me laugh so hard. I love it 🙂 Thanks for sharing! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/52 "2012-05-12T16:47:43Z")
I am so glad we got to see what happened. I’m curious if it will just now stay the same. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/53 "2012-05-12T21:13:50Z")
Perhaps your car is having a stroke. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/54 "2012-05-12T21:27:27Z")
Four that is. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/55 "2012-05-13T00:21:10Z")
So, did it change on February 101, or is it done? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/56 "2012-05-13T00:46:45Z")
Yes, it’s still doing the [sup]0[/sup] thing for 100. Today it is FEB [sup]0[/sup]2. I guess in a week we’ll find out what happens after FEB “109”. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/57 "2012-05-13T01:24:31Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Yes, it’s still doing the [sup]0[/sup] thing for 100. Today it is FEB [sup]0[/sup]2. I guess in a week we’ll find out what happens after FEB “109”. Sounds like it’s doing what I predicted. So probably after 109 the nine will become zero. I can’t say what will happen to the [sup]0[/sup]. Maybe I can find some specs online for that display. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/58 "2012-05-14T01:53:42Z")
I’m rooting for Feb i. Or possibly Feb 3.14. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/59 "2012-05-14T14:20:28Z")
I cannot believe I’m the first one to make a reference to February being the month of Groundhog Day. ---
**Author:** ![Jesta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Jesta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesta)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612/60 "2012-05-14T14:55:45Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Maybe it will hit Feb 99 then, the next day when it tries to roll over, all the electronics will lock up and the car won’t start. Either that or the car will explode. > [@davidm](#): > > At that point it will tear a hole in the time/space continuum and nobody can say what happens then. > > Just keep it below 88 MPH! > [@davidm](#): > > Just make sure that no one is inside (or even near) that car at midnight! > > Time warps can be nasty things. > [@davidm](#): > > _ **Sounds like it’s doing what I predicted** _. So probably after 109 the nine will become zero. I can’t say what will happen to the [sup]0[/sup]. Maybe I can find some specs online for that display. Might want to be a bit more specific with your claim to have predicted the obvious! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-useless-accessory-in-my-car-is-now-even-more-useless/614612.md?page=4)