# Why do we say 18th century? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552 "2015-08-22T22:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/41 "2015-08-25T21:06:36Z")
I remember Walter Cronkite’s “[The 20th Century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_20th_Century)” program from the 1960’s - always makes it easy for me to remember that dates like 1960 happened in the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/42 "2015-08-25T21:28:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I totally grasp the concept, but I still have to mentally translate: mention the 18th century, and I’ll have to think “Oh that’s the… 19… no wait—the 1700’s. Why couldn’t they just **say** the 1700’s in the first place, instead of making me figure it out?” > > So I appreciate this thread’s question. Because most people don’t have a problem decoding “_xx_th Century?” They’re perfectly interchangeable, except for the few for whom it isn’t, and frankly, we don’t believe in coddling the weak 'round here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/43 "2015-08-25T21:38:13Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > I remember Walter Cronkite’s “[The 20th Century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_20th_Century)” program from the 1960’s - always makes it easy for me to remember that dates like 1960 happened in the 20th century. But as your link points out, it was renamed _The 21st Century_ in 1967. And the 1900s were definitely not part of that. The Fox stuff is even weirder. 20th Century Fox remains the name of the movie studio, etc. But its parent company is 21st Century Fox (taking on that name just a couple years ago). Using such names as a memory aid is not recommended. I don’t understand why so many people have trouble with ordinal vs. cardinal numbers. After all, your first year of life occurs before you turn 1, not after. And don’t get me started on the Century of the Fruitbat. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/44 "2015-08-25T23:21:23Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But as your link points out, it was renamed _The 21st Century_ in 1967. And the 1900s were definitely not part of that. It’s worth noting that the opening graphic for that show depicted the calendar/odometer clicking over from 2000 to 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/45 "2015-08-26T01:36:22Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Yes I know that is how it is counted. But why not say the perfectly valid term 1700s? Because then you get into arguments over whether that should be 1700s or 1700’s. Personally, I think it looks odd without the greengrocer’s apostrophe. (Heh - autocorrect underlines 1700s but not 1700’s.) ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/46 "2015-08-26T01:52:12Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > …I should note, by the way, that a certain percentage of my students never grasp the concept. Even after i explain how it works, i still have some students who think that the 18th century is the 1800s, and so on. College students, huh? What are the admission requirements - matching socks? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/47 "2015-08-26T02:49:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Is it Twelve Forty-Five or Quarter to One? I would and do say “noon 45” or “midnight 45” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/48 "2015-08-26T04:17:44Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Some people might say the American Revolution happened in “the 1700’s.” They would be wrong. No they wouldn’t. “The 1700s” can refer to either the first decade of the 18th century, or any of the years from 1700-1799. Both uses are correct. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/49 "2015-08-26T12:02:30Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > No they wouldn’t. “The 1700s” can refer to either the first decade of the 18th century, or any of the years from 1700-1799. Both uses are correct. Would you say “The Second World War occurred in the 1900’s”? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/50 "2015-08-26T14:50:26Z")
How hard can it be? We live in the 21st century. The 21st-century’s years begin with 20. The 20th century’s years begin with 19. It’s turtles all the way back. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/51 "2015-08-26T15:04:47Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > How hard can it be? We live in the 21st century. The 21st-century’s years begin with 20. The 20th century’s years begin with 19. > > It’s turtles all the way back. Or go the other way. The first year of the “1st century” is (what we would now retroactively call) the year 1. The “first” hundred thus end with 100. The first year of the 2nd century is 101. The first year of the 3rd century is 201… et cetera. It’s the mirror-imaged count in the BCE that takes a extra beat of thought to get right. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/52 "2015-08-26T15:16:44Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Would you say “The Second World War occurred in the 1900’s”? Jeopardy! often uses “the 1700s” to refer to the entire century. 1700s & 18th century are interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/53 "2015-08-26T16:08:43Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Jeopardy! often uses “the 1700s” to refer to the entire century. > > 1700s & 18th century are interchangeable. 99% of the time, it works every time. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/54 "2015-08-27T01:28:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Jeopardy! often uses “the 1700s” to refer to the entire century. > > 1700s & 18th century are interchangeable. At last! Somebody agrees with me. 🙂 > [@Colophon](#): > > 99% of the time, it works every time. Yikes. I suppose you guys also want to start the forenoon watch at 8:01 a.m. instead of 8:00. (BTW, that the C programming language starts with 0 instead of 1 has elegant consequences. When will you regular humans catch on? 🆒 ) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552/55 "2015-08-27T05:05:43Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I suppose you guys also want to start the forenoon watch at 8:01 a.m. instead of 8:00. Times are stated like ages, in common English usage, indicated by the preceding completed term. Calendar years are like grades of school, numbered by the term in progress. (I understand that Chinese usage does ages of people in the latter way.) Alas for the logical inconsistency, but that is the deal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-say-18th-century/728552.md?page=2)