Original photo by Savvapanf Photo/ Shutterstock
"Thirty Days Hath September" may be a useful mnemonic device, but there are times when that poem might have led you astray. In 1752, September was only 19 days long in the U.K., due to the Calendar (New Style) Act of 1750. That parliamentary move transferred the country from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar — the former having overestimated each year's length by about 11 minutes.
Back in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII had declared that all countries under the dominion of the Catholic Church needed to adopt the Gregorian calendar, but many Protestant nations — such as England — resisted the pope's demands. During the 18th century, as international trade and diplomacy increased, Britain and its colonies began to view the adherence to a now-antiquated Julian calendar — first implemented in Rome by Julius Caesar in the first century BCE — as more spiteful than practical. When the U.K. finally converted to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they jumped straight from September 2 to September 14, skipping the 11 days in between to make up for the errors of the Julian calendar. Though protests against the law arose among some anti-reformers — who purportedly rallied behind the slogan "Give us back our 11 days!" — the calendar was adopted without any further delay.
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It's a factThe Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia celebrated the new year in March, because the holiday was tied to the vernal equinox. The concept of a January 1 new year was introduced by the Romans in 153 BCE, though that date wasn't adopted globally until Pope Gregory's reforms in 1582.
Eastern Orthodox nations, such as Russia and Greece, also initially resisted the papal decree, waiting to transition to the Gregorian calendar until 1918 and 1923, respectively. By then, so much time had passed that those two countries skipped 13 days to bring their calendars up to speed. Russia's stubbornness also affected Alaska — upon being sold to the U.S. in 1867, the former Russian territory leapt straight from October 6 to October 18.
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Prior to being named for Julius Caesar, July was once known as ______.
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Prior to being named for Julius Caesar, July was once known as Quintilis.
Kodak used to operate on a 13-month calendar.
The concept of a 13-month, 28-day-per-month calendar is known as the International Fixed Calendar. The idea was proposed by statistician and railway adviser Moses B. Cotsworth in 1902, and was seriously considered for adoption by the League of Nations in the 1920s. This 13-month calendar introduced a new month named Sol, which fell between June and July, and also featured an extra holiday falling on the final day of the year, known as “Year Day.” Though never officially used by any country, it was highly popular with Kodak founder George Eastman — so much so that his company utilized it beginning in 1928. Eastman went on to open an office for the International Fixed Calendar League in Kodak’s Rochester headquarters. Unfortunately for Kodak, the calendar failed to catch on, and the company ultimately gave up the concept in 1989.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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