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  • in culture
  • 4 min read

The Missing 23rd of the Month

Previously, I explained why the 11th of most months is mentioned far less than the other days in the Google Ngrams database of English literature from 1800-2008. This was to solve a long-standing question posed in an xkcd comic. While researching this, I encountered another mystery: the 2nd, 3rd, 22nd, and 23rd are unusually low as well—but only until the 1930s, at which point they become perfectly normal days. Last time, I set this question aside to focus on the 11th. In this installment, I explain the strange behavior of these four days.

  • in culture
  • 9 min read

The Missing 11th of the Month

In months other than September, the 11th is mentioned substantially less often than any other date. It's been that way since long before 9/11 and I have no idea why. In months other than September, the 11th is mentioned substantially less often than any other date. It's been that way since long before 9/11 and I have no idea why. Source xkcd. Image licensed under CC-BY-NC.

On November 28th, 2012, Randall Munroe published an xkcd comic that was a calendar in which the size of each date was proportional to how often each date is referenced by its ordinal name (e.g. "October 14th") in the Google Ngrams database since 2000. Most of the large days are pretty much what you would expect: July 4th, December 25th, the 1st of every month, the last day of most months, and of course a September 11th that shoves its neighbors into the margins. There are not many days that seem to be smaller than the typical size. February 29th is a tiny speck, for instance. But if you stare at the comic long enough, you may get the impression that the 11th of most months is unusually small. The title text of the comic concurs, reading "In months other than September, the 11th is mentioned substantially less often than any other date. It's been that way since long before 9/11 and I have no idea why." After digging into the raw data, I believe I have figured out why.

  • in culture
  • 2 min read

One™ Bad Naming Fad

When a trendy corporate fad is embraced by the dinosaur in the market, that usually marks the peak and indicates the coming decline in the fad. I for one hope that the recent release of the Xbox One digital dinosaur Microsoft marks the decline of one bad naming fad—naming your latest product "One". It seems like everyone has a "<MyBrand> One" out. In addition to Xbox One, I have run across Pandora One, Ubuntu One, Dell's XPS One, HTC One, and PLOS ONE.