Page 262 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

246 • Chapter 7

month, year, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs-
day, Friday, Saturday, January, February, March, April, May,
June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Calendar Reform
Currently we follow the Gregorian calendar. Use an al-
manac to find out how our current calendar was developed.
If you are interested in genealogy, you know about the cal-
endar reform of 1582 finally adopted by the British in 1752.
If not, find out about calendar reform. Try to determine why
there are 12 months of uneven numbers of days. It seems
like an arbitrary decision for breaking up the 365 days.

Calendars of Other Cultures

Investigate the Chinese calendar. How is it like the Grego-
rian calendar? How is it different? Investigate other calen-
dars for other groups.

How Many Calendars Do You Ever Need?
Have you noticed that many years have the same arrange-
ments of dates? For example, the calendar for the year 2000
is the same one we used in 1972. How many different calen-
dars do you need to keep around so that you always have a
correct version? When is the next time you will be able to
use the 1999 calendar again? Answers for this question are
at the end of this chapter.

Day of the Week Calculation
Ever wonder on what day of the week you were born? Find
out the day of the week for any date after 1753. Use the fol-
lowing calculation. We will demonstrate with February 6,
1897. The last column is provided for you to work this cal-
culation on a date of your choosing.