By Edwin Cooney
A few days ago, one of you sent me a column that’s
distributed once a year. Its
author calls it “Did You Know?”
It’s a delightful list of trivia items that stimulates one’s curiosity
and tickles one’s intellect causing the reader to scratch his or her head and
say, “oh, wow, how fascinating!!!”
However, this year’s version had a disconcerting flaw in it. Before I get to the flaw, here are a
few items that, as far as I can tell, are both true and fascinating.
“Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is
attached only at one end.”
“Astronauts can’t belch. There’s no gravity to separate
liquid from gas in their stomachs.”
“In order to make a half a kilo of honey, bees must collect
nectar from over two million individual flowers.”
“Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in
1952, but he declined.”
"Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at
restaurants is considered an insult.”
Now to the flaw.
It’s a flaw that only a numerologist or someone like me (who probably
has too much time on his hands) could have possibly caught -- but I did indeed
catch it. Here’s the flaw:
“December 2012 has five Fridays, five Saturdays and five
Sundays. This apparently happens
once every 823 years!” The key
words in that last sentence are “…this apparently happens.”
Had the author checked a 2012
calendar or one of those perpetual calendars, he or she would have discovered
several things:
First, December 2012 will not have
five Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
However, as was the case in 1984, it will have five Saturdays, Sundays
and Mondays. (Like 2012, the year 1984 was a leap year.) December had five
Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays in 1990, 2001, 2007 and (of course) this
year. This pattern will continue
to 2040 for the years 2018, 2029, 2035 and 2040.
Second, December did have five
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in 1989, 1995, 2000, 2006 and will again in
2017, 2023, and 2028.
So, what does it all mean? After all, it's mere trivia and I’m
sure the author didn’t mean to mislead you and me! This annual column is offered primarily as enlightening
entertainment. Its value lies in
what the reader ultimately chooses to do with the information it provides.
Hence, absolute integrity is less important than the sheer knowledge the column
imparts.
Of course, historical writing,
unlike technical or scientific writing, can’t be entirely factual, because much
history, even documented history, is often subject to the originating source’s
interpretation of the significance of people and events.
Thus, historical writing, which is
much of what I offer in these weekly musings, isn’t as exacting as
instructional, technical or scientific writing.
Ultimately, the question has to be
asked: “Does the above mentioned error render future “Did You Know” articles
useless or meaningless?
Certainly not! However, it does
provide the reader with a reasonable opportunity for healthy skepticism.
On the other hand, we can
occasionally be too rigid when it comes to integrity -- especially when an
author’s beliefs and opinions, appearing to counter what we value, cause us to
feel discomfort. If you’re a
"person of faith,” the views of an agnostic or atheist can cause you
considerable discomfort and even resentment. Our personal beliefs, to some extent, are inevitably linked
to our sense of integrity which is very personal indeed!
Generally, though, most of what we
hear and read doesn’t conflict with our sense of integrity or sense of self. Hence, we may allow authors who write
such articles as “Cooney’s Corner” or “Did You Know,” to err. “To err is human,” as they say. Here’s an historical fact for you
“political junkies" that goes nicely with the observation I just
made. Republicans in the
late 1940s and 1950s used to assert, “To err is Truman!” Cute, isn’t it? …unless you were
Harry, Bess or Margaret Truman!
What it all boils down to for this
observer is the following:
A reader must be curious but
alert, cautious but open, skeptical but not cynical. So, read, take it all in, and allow what you read to merge
with what you currently believe, know and think. Before you make what you’ve just read a part of who you
are--or who you may become--check it out with those you love and who love you
the best and all should be well!
Oh, one more thing.
Every 31 day month has five sets of three consecutive dates and will
continue to do so until we change our calendar. Stay tuned and alert -- it may happen sooner than you think!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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