Urban Legend for July 2011

Today's post is a little gem that shows how superstitious we are about calendars, courtesy of my friend T. who sent me the following chain e-mail:

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME WE WILL SEE AND LIVE THIS EVENT

Calendar for July 2011

July

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

     This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens
once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So, forward this to
your friends and money will arrive within 4 days. Based on Chinese
Feng Shui. The one who does not forward.....will be without money.

Annnnd in addition:

This year we're going to experience four unusual dates.

1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all...

Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year, the results will be 111 for everyone in whole world.

This e-mail is an urban legend debunked at About.com:

Analysis: It's true that the month of July 2011 will have five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays, but as I've pointed out before this is not at all a rare circumstance, let alone one that only happens once every 823 years. Any 31-day month that begins on a Friday will have five Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The last time this occurred was October 2010; the next time it will occur (after July 2011) is March 2013.

Nor is it worth anyone's while to copy and forward chain letters promising money, good luck, or other nebulous rewards. Nothing in the above text has anything to do with feng shui or any other form of Chinese mysticism. Passing along woo-woo messages does not confer magical powers on the sender.

2011 will feature the unique (in this century) dates 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, and 11/11/11, but this has no mystical significance except in the imagination of the beholder.

Lastly, it's true that for anyone born in the last century (1900-1999), adding the two-digit year they were born (for example, '82) to the age they'll attain on their 2011 birthday (in this case, 29) will always yield the sum 111 (82 + 29 = 111). But again, there's nothing magical or mystical about this. It's always the case that when you add the year you were born to the age you turn in the current year, the sum will equal the current year: 1982 + 29 = 2011. That's simple math. When you render the birth year of someone born between 1900 and 1999 in two digits you're basically just subtracting 1900 from each side of the equation, so it becomes: 82 + 29 = 111.

Not as remarkable as it may seem at first glance.

For my earlier post on Chain Letters, go here.


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