Why do Americans do the date differently?

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TAGM

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Dec 16, 2008
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I don't really know. Maybe it is just to be different. Maybe it's just because america felt like being a dick or something.
Strange thing is, though - Ever wonder if they ask why we're doing it wrong?
 
May 5, 2010
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Same reason we measure things in inches, feet, and yards. (12 inches=1 foot, 1 yard=3 feet. Seriously, who came up with this terrible system?).....I don't fucking know.
 

Mercsenary

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Oct 19, 2008
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Criquefreak said:
Because any other arrangement would make pi day impossible?
Thread over.

In any case, does it matter (other than the aforementioned pi day)? 03/20/1990 20/03/1990

Well gee what does that refer to March 20th, 1990.

For Westerners and Europeans it takes alittle for the brain to rewire itself temporarily to assign the correct dd/mm/yyyy format but it still works. So you take a fraction of a second longer to stare at a date. Oh noes, the world ends.

Next thing you know we're gonna be arguing whether the meter is better or the yard is better and why people use it.


Also, If it aint broke, dont fix it.
 

mb16

make cupcakes not bombs
Sep 14, 2008
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Squidden said:
I don't see why it's such a problem that America likes to change small trivial things about it (i.e. the dates, roads and spelling of certain words) to most of you people.
did you also know that they swapped the way the lights go on boats?

rest of the world.
[red-light]BOAT[green light]
USA.
[green light]BOAT[red-light]

so if its dark and your in US waters is the other boat going away or coming towards you?
 

mb16

make cupcakes not bombs
Sep 14, 2008
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mr_rubino said:
Lethos said:
mr_rubino said:
Lethos said:
mr_rubino said:
Lethos said:
mr_rubino said:
Ranma12569 said:
mr_rubino said:
Lilani said:
We just do. And to send it right back at ya, why do all of you Europeans and Asians drive on the left side of the road, huh? That's so silly.
Nah, just England and Japan. Two isolated islands. =P
England isn't an island it's a country along with Scotland and Wales that make up the island of great britain which contains numerous small islands as well.

Japan is several thousand islands not just one. I'm not attacking you just letting you know
*sigh* Two isolated archipelagos. Better? They also both have an odd predilection towards calling undergarments "pants".
88chaz88 said:
mr_rubino said:
Lilani said:
We just do. And to send it right back at ya, why do all of you Europeans and Asians drive on the left side of the road, huh? That's so silly.
Nah, just England and Japan. Two isolated islands. =P
Actually driving on the left was how it was done originally. It was a system invented by the Romans and the whole of Europe was using it up until Napoleon decided that everyone should drive on the right. So really we're right, you're wrong, again.
Terribly intriguing, old chap, but you haven't clarified what else you're "right" about. Sticking unnatural letters into words and calling it classy certainly isn't "right". (Napoleon, eh? Sure was a looong time ago, wasn't it?)
God bless the Englanders. If they're not adding cosmetic changes to something and retroactively claiming it's correct, or losing half the world in one fell/prolonged swoop, they're keeping traditions the rest of the world gave up and claiming superiority for it. Must be nice to live in a little soap bubble while the rest of the world has to share borders with things.
Wtf? Did your girlfriend leave you for an English bloke or something? You seem to have a rather large chip on your soldier. I think it's cute that your perception of England is out of date by about 100 years but, you really shouldn't display your ignorance so openly.
Ah, sorry, governor. Allow me to do the more more acceptable thing:
Gaw! America! Those Yanks are their differences from us! What uneducated tobbyrot! *monocle*
Have you ever been to England?
Have you ever been to America?
I have actually, I spent a couple of weeks in NYC. I just find it ironic that in trying to beat the dead horse that is the British stereotype (and if I am honest, it is only the Americans that continue to beat that poor horse), you became the embodiment of the ignorant American stereotype.
Ah what a coincidence. I see you on a message board whining about American dating systems. I think you might have your top hat on too tight, because it seems dripping irony is yet another thing Englanders like to claim as their own that another civilization created. (And you succeed, I'll admit.)

Sorry, man. I'm not going to bow down and apologize for my birthplace just because you wounded lions still think we somehow care enough to defy you because your ancestors had a tenuous hold on us a century or two ago. It just feeds the unhealthy complex you guys seem to have. I have no problem with you guys being a shell of an empire with your claws clutching for dear life at the closest island you have left, but I think it's about time your bunch dropped the 'tude and joined the rest of the world.
oh both of you STFU its sounding like youtube comments here
 

silent-treatment

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Oct 15, 2009
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Merh dont really know why we do things differently, but I really doubt that its because of some strange need to say Fuck you to the rest of the world (we use more direct methods then that). It probably has more to do with our normal vocabulary. we just like to use "the", more then "of". As in January the 1st vrs. the 1st of January.

Ohh and us not changing to this way of telling time is not the equivalence to us not switching to the metric system. Us not changing to metric is bound in retardation, cause most people dont know how many yards are in a mile. seriously fuck that system.
 

thedeathscythe

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Aug 6, 2010
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I'm Canadian and I even do it that way. It's easier to remember. 01/02/03 is January/second/two thousand and three. I find it weird to go 02/01/03 because that'd be like say Second of/January/two thousand and three. I do it in the way that you would say it.
 

ADDLibrarian

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May 25, 2008
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Crolley said:
Maybe it's to bring it in line with (what might be) the most common way Americans say it. "Today is January first, of two thousand eleven."
I would guess that, but not sure.
 

suicide samurai

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Jul 17, 2009
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Most likely, someone decided it was better for a filing system.

Look for the year... check.

Look at the month... check.

Then look for the day.

M/D. The year still went at the end, instead of the beginning, as years change less often.

In speech, month/day/year is a lot easier to say--more fluid, that is, but it does lack the haughty nature of "the first of January, year of our Lord, two-thousand and eleven."
 

Chainsaw_Chuck

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Dec 7, 2010
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I find that it makes more sense when said month/day/year. It dosen't roll off the toung quite as well when said 1 January, 2011 (reading it as First January, 2011), where as saying January 1, 2011 (January First, 2011) sounds better because it implies that January possesses the day in question and makes the sentence flow better. Unless you phrase it as First of January, 2011, then it makes sense. But that's just a humble Canadian's opinion on the subject.
 

Jewrean

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Jun 27, 2010
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ReservoirAngel said:
They enjoy making things feel like their own. They do it with language too. Make minor changes so they can feel like they're not just copying a country most of them see as their own personal ***** nation.
1+

Although it more applies to when the nation was being formed as to differentiate themselves from their British overlords.

I will admit that ordering by M/D/Y actually puts it in order when you order your computer files by name. It's still far more logical to do D/M/Y though.
 

CiB42

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Dec 17, 2010
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FalloutJack said:
I dunno. Why do the people doing it the other way do it that way?
Thats how it's said over here- today is "the second of January two thousand and eleven."

I'm in Scotland. It's part of the UK. The UK is the nation that some ignorant people call "England". Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are in fact culturally diverse places, and quite often people from one of those places don't like it when you just refer to them as "English" or say "England did" stufff that actually the UK did.)

Carlston said:
Last I checked (shoo Sealand) every country past and present wants everyone to see everything their way, and anyone who says they aren't is living in a dream world to make themselves seem more enlightened.
I call bollocks on this statement. I don't believe that any culture is any better than any other. I am well aware that the parts of my culture that I love dearly were the result of many cultures all influencing each other- not people forcing each other to see things their way, but people recognising that they didn't and not having it bother them. This "dream world" to which you refer happens- get your eyes away from the crap parts of the world for a few minutes and you'll see it as well.

Vryyk said:
You're just mad because England couldn't hold on to it's colonies. Next time bring more soldiers.
I think you meant "UK" not "England", which also explains why you don't know that the next time we brought less soldiers. It went quite well to. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Washington)
 

higgs20

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Feb 16, 2010
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Crolley said:
Maybe it's to bring it in line with (what might be) the most common way Americans say it. "Today is January first, of two thousand eleven."
that's a really good point,I've never though about it before but I'm British and I would always say "today is the 1st of January" presumably since that's how we write it down.
 

joemegson94

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Aug 17, 2010
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The same reason they use z's in their words when they don't need to and mis-spell colour: they're just trying to be different for the sake of it.

Or, it could be a big conspiracy created by the secret reptile government of America. I don't know.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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CiB42 said:
Whoa snip!
I know my geography, lad. An Irishman my heritage be. It's just I was born and raised over here in the states. And yeah, the United Kingdom isn't just England. However, by and by, it IS a significant chunk.
 

rokkolpo

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Aug 29, 2009
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To be difficult on purpose...I suppose that's the correct answer.

Otherwise they'd go with the metric system aswell.