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calndr.txt
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1993-08-16
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*Once you have memorized this
strategy, you'll amaze people by
telling them the exact day of the
week it was on the date they were
born, or any date in modern history.$
Let's see how it works for December
28, 1963 (which just happens to be
Scott Flansburg's birthday).$
Start with the last two digits of
the year -- in this case, 63.
We'll move the 63 to the first
part of the equation.$
Next, we need the number of leap
year days to allow for, so we
divide the first number by 4 and
just drop any remainder or fraction.$
63 divided by 4 is 15 with a
remainder of 3. We won't use the
remainder, so we'll put the 15
into the equation like this.$
The next step is easy. The day of
the month is the 28th. We'll put
the 28 into the equation like this.$
The last variable in the equation
is called the Significant Value
of the month. You'll need to
memorize these values.$
Look at the table to find the
Significant Value for December.
It's 5. The 5 goes into the
equation here.$
Add all four numbers together:
63 + 15 + 28 + 5 = 111. Now,
divide 111 by 7 (the number of
days in the week). The remainder,
6, is the important part.$
The remainder corresponds to a
day of the week, as shown in the
table below. So we see that
December 28, 1963 was a Saturday.$
That's how this strategy works for
most dates in the twentieth century.
If the date is in January or
February of a leap year, you have
one more easy step.$
You don't need to account for the
extra day in a leap year if the
date you're working with is on or
before February 29.$
A leap year is any year that is
evenly divisible by 4. Let's see
how we would calculate the day of
the week for February 2, 1984.$
Start with the last two digits in
the year, 84. Divide that number
by 4, giving 21, and put that number
into the equation like this.$
The day of the month goes into the
equation here. The chart says the
Significant Value for February is 3,
but we're going to subtract 1 from
that because 1984 is a leap year.
Put a 2 into the equation here.$
Add: 84 + 21 + 2 + 2 = 109
and divide that answer by 7.
109 ÷ 7 = 15, with a remainder of
4. The 4 corresponds to Thursday,
so February 2, 1984 was a Thursday!$
When the date you're working with
isn't in the twentieth century,
you'll need to make one more
adjustment to the basic strategy.$
For dates in the 21st century, sub-
tract 1 from the Significant Value.
For dates in the 19th century, add 2.
For the 18th century, add 3.$
Let's try a date from the 19th
century -- June 12, 1843. Start
with the year.
The 43 goes to the left.$
43 divided by 4 is 10, with a
remainder of 3. Put the 10 into the
equation here, and disregard the
remainder.$
The day of the month is 12.
It goes into the equation here.$
Usually, the Significant Value of
June is 4, but since our date is
in the 19th century, we'll add 2,
making it 6. The 6 goes into the
equation here.$
Now add the variables as before.
43 + 10 + 12 + 6 = 71
Divide 71 by 7.$
The remainder is 1, so we know that
June 12, 1843 was a Monday. Now
you're ready to try some dates on
your own.@