Past opinions provide perspective

Looking Back examines editorials during this week in history.

It took 100 years (give or take), but The Spokesman-Review editorial board changed its opinion about when new centuries begin.

Do the math, Dec. 27, 1899

“ ‘Of course,’ says a writer in the Ladies’ Home Journal, ‘everybody knows that the 20th century will begin on Tuesday, January 1, 1901.’

“No, everybody does not know, though everybody should. There remains persons who keep insisting that the 20th century will begin Monday, January 1, 1900, notwithstanding it is entirely plain that a wheelman doing a double century turn would not start on his second century with the first rod of his 100th mile. He must ride out that hundredth mile, but having done that, he will be free to start another ‘century.’ ”

It continued: “Men and brethren, before coming into print in defense that 99 makes a century, or engaging in animated debates with friends and relatives, go into a quiet nook and think. If you are a man, ask yourself if you would consider a hundred-dollar note satisfied with the payment of $99. If a woman, ask yourself whether you want the change when you get a 99 cents ‘bargain’ and hand over a dollar. No, indeed, 99 years does not make a century.”

Millennial magic, Dec. 31, 1999

“While most of us are ready to dash into the 21st century, a few tortured souls, for whom numerical precision is everything, say wait ’til next year. When the counting began, they point out, zero hadn’t been invented. So the first year was one. Therefore, they contend, the next millennium doesn’t start until 2001.

“That argument is OK as far as it goes, but consider this: The current system of dating was devised by a monk named Dionysius Exiguous in the sixth century. Using the best resources of the time (remember, he didn’t have zero and he did his calculations using Roman numerals) he plotted the year of Jesus Christ’s birth. Timekeeping precision has improved markedly since then. These days, some prominent theologians and historians believe that Christ was born about four years earlier than Dionysius thought. If you want to be precise, the new millennium probably began several years ago.

“Call it the odometer syndrome, but the year 2000 has a lot more charm than 2001.”

It continued: “Mathematically, they (the purists) might have a point, but culturally they’re way off. Remember, this whole time thing is arbitrary. It’s just another year for some cultures.

“But for the rest of us it is cause for celebration. The Eiffel Tower will be illuminated with fireworks and light like never before. In England a human chain along the Greenwich Meridian will welcome in the new year. In New York City, the crowd in Times Square will watch a specially crafted Waterford crystal ball slide down a pole noting the beginning of 2000.”

It concluded: “To throw a wet blanket on all of this seems a little sour.”