Your Best Fun But Completely Useless Skill

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Now, why it works: a non-leap year is 365 days = 52 weeks + 1 day. That extra day pushes every date one day forward through the week from one year to the next: last year, November 20 was on Thursday, but this year it will be on Friday.

And each leap day pushes each date an extra day forward through the week: November 20 this year is on Friday, but next year it will be on Sunday, because the ‘+1 day’ does its usual pushing November 20 one day forward, and so does the leap day, so it gets pushed forward two days.

So a given date gets pushed forward through the week one day for each year, plus one day for each intervening leap day.

But every 7 days it gets pushed forward just gets you back to the same day of the week. So that’s why you divide by 7 and only keep your remainder: you’re tossing out as many multiples of 7 as you can, because they just tell you how many times that date has been pushed around the week and back to its starting place again.

The remainder is the part that tells you the actual change, after you’ve gotten back to the starting place for the last time.

And since a date is being pushed forward through the week as you go forward through time, if you’re working backwards in time, you count backwards. So going from 2015 to a past year, you take the remainder and count backwards through the week.

But if you wanted to know what day a future date fell on, you’d count forwards. November 20, 2050 moves forward 35 + 9 = 44 days, 44 = 7*6 + 2 so that’s 2 days forward, really. November 20, 2050 falls on a Sunday.

One note about dates before 1900 or after 2100: 1900 and 2100 aren’t leap years. Ditto any other year evenly divisible by 100 but not by 400. So if you want to figure out the day of the week of a date in A.D. 2101, when war was beginning ;), make sure you don’t inadvertently count the nonexistent leap day in 2100.

62

I can do voluntary nystagmus as well, and can cross my eyes and hold them while I look around*. I can wiggle my left ear, lift my left eyebrow, and left my left lip while the right descends. I can also do the “Spock” V with my fingers, then bring the middle & ring fingers together while the index & pinkie stay put, and repeat. Unless I misunderstood it, I can do the flat-palms-finger-lifting thing too, just not fast, and the thumb rotating.

*E.g. I can cross my eyes and see the computer keyboard keys with R-T overlaid, T-Y overlaid, Y-U, etc. Then I can look around the keyboard without uncrossing my eyes. The result is the center overlaid square keys look like they are 4 inches lower than the ones at the edge that overlay oddly since they are not the same shape. There is a carpet at work with colored lines and the effect is as if I and others are floating five inches above the floor. I taught myself this while looking at window blinds in bed. The result there is feeling like you are the size of a mouse.

63

Also voluntary nystagmus and independent eye movement. Though it does have some use. Scares the crap out of some people and that can be a good thing.

64

I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order and all the presidents in chronological order. The 50 states thing is because of a song I learned in 5th grade, but I memorized the presidents when I was really bored at work one day.

65

I can snatch up to 42 quarters off my forearm. I actually haven’t tried it since my shoulder got arthritic, though. I’d try it now if it wasn’t for the generic striped cat in my lap.

66

I can twiddle my thumbs in opposite directions, move my eyes independently, and curl my tongue into a clover. I can also put my heels flat against a wall, and, while keeping my legs straight, bend over and touch my toes (in spite of being the owner of a well-padded backside.)

67

I’m a beast at Pac-Man Battle Royale, the party-style competitive arcade game. I’m undefeated after playing it nigh countless times at various arcades. I don’t even understand how; I started kicking ass from day one.

I’m looking for someone who can give me a run for my money.

68

I’d give anything if I could flip my eyelids up.