# What are the smallest and largest numbers that you instantly recognize as years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677 "2018-10-09T00:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eyes\_of\_Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eyes\_of\_Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyes_of_Seven)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/1 "2018-10-09T00:05:07Z")
I easily see the numbers 1350 to 2099 as being years before I see them as random numbers. I don’t easily see the number 1 as referring to a year even though there was a 1 A.D., and 1 B.C… I also don’t easily see there being years beyond 2099 A.D… I wonder what the standard range of this phenomenon is; are there people who see 48,512 or 318,999 as being years? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/2 "2018-10-09T00:23:52Z")
Earliest: [1066](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings) Latest: [2525](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Year_2525)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/3 "2018-10-09T00:28:54Z")
On a related note, when I was eight years old, I remember reading about the [eruption of Mount Vesuvius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_of_Mount_Vesuvius_in_79) in 79 A.D. I remember initially having trouble recognizing this as an actual year. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/4 "2018-10-09T00:53:56Z")
410, generally accepted as the last year of Roman rule in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/5 "2018-10-09T01:14:28Z")
-4004 2100 ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/6 "2018-10-09T10:33:44Z")
I always remember the year in HG Wells The Time Machine: **802,701**. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/7 "2018-10-09T10:42:12Z")
1266 - I don’t know why but 1266 is the smallest number that I automatically think of as a year upon hearing or reading it, regardless of context. 2525 - Pretty obvious ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/8 "2018-10-09T11:54:20Z")
Lowest, as cited above 1066. I’ve read history before that, but those years won’t instantly register as years. As for the future, I’d say 2999. After that, it’s 3K, as in MST3K. . ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/9 "2018-10-09T12:05:44Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Earliest: [1066](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings) > > Latest: [2525](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Year_2525)🙂 This exactly. I have a drawing of the Battle hanging on a wall and I nominated 2525 for the 1 hit wonder thread. If it is 3 digits, I don’t think year. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/10 "2018-10-09T12:26:13Z")
1054 was the first thing that came to mine for smallest (Crab Nebula supernova) but -4004 is a really good one, too. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/11 "2018-10-09T13:05:45Z")
There’s a book called _[1066 And All That](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1066_and_All_That)_, which is a reference to the typical historical events that get taught in British schools, in this case the Battle Of Hastings. Any number lower than that starts to sound like measurements or times of day or something. As for the future, any _Star Trek_ year would sound okay to my ears, but anything after the 24th Century might lose me. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/12 "2018-10-09T17:26:28Z")
[872](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hafrsfjord) [2525](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Year_2525) ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/13 "2018-10-09T21:53:10Z")
Yup, 1066 is definitely the low end for me. Gotta be 4-digit and that’s the first one that rings out as a year. For the highest, I’m not sure… probably something pretty soon actually, like 2099 or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/14 "2018-10-10T17:04:42Z")
For me, it depends too much on context to be able to give a straightforward answer. If (for example) I’m reading a chronology of something, then I’m primed to recognize as a year just about any number that has approximately the “right” number of digits for the topic. But if I’m reading normal prose… Hmmm… Most American publishers write “the ordinary number two thousand eighteen” with a comma in it - 2,018 - don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/15 "2018-10-10T18:06:51Z")
In the year one million and a half Humankind is enslaved by Giraffe. Man must pay for all his misdeeds when the treetops are stripped of their leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Eyes\_of\_Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eyes\_of\_Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyes_of_Seven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/16 "2018-10-10T21:20:02Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Earliest: [1066](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings) > > Latest: [2525](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Year_2525)🙂 I haven’t heard of “In The Year 2525” before; I thought it might be a Star Trek reference. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/17 "2018-10-10T21:45:04Z")
How about 1 million, as in One Million Years BC? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/18 "2018-10-10T22:27:27Z")
[466](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/466) – taught as “the fall of the Roman Empire” when I was in fifth grade Another 2525 to add to the list. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/19 "2018-10-10T23:07:35Z")
As others have said, it would be 1066 and 2525 for me. And I’ll admit it took me a while before my brain accepted that a four digit sequence that started with 20 was a year. It just looked unnatural to me. Back in my day, years started with 19. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677/20 "2018-10-11T10:40:12Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > [466](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/466) – taught as “the fall of the Roman Empire” when I was in fifth grade > > Another 2525 to add to the list. I think you mean 4_ **7** _6, when Odoacer kicked Romulus Augustulus out. That is the lowest number that automatically means “year” in my mind. 2525 is the top end for me too and now I can’t get that song out of my head. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-smallest-and-largest-numbers-that-you-instantly-recognize-as-years/822677.md?page=2)