FIVE BLUE MONDAYS THIS MONTH
I KNOW several people who are intrigued by patterns of numbers. I certainly am, which is probably why I am addicted to Sudoku puzzles.
My friend Jacques Vandewalle alerted me to a curious and rare calendar event. This month (December) has five Sundays, five Mondays and five Tuesdays. Apparently none of us will see this happen again in our lifetimes because it can only occur once every 823 years. (I wonder who works out calculations like that, or is there an “app” that does it for you?)
Jacques says the Chinese call a magical month like this a “bag full of money”, and it’s a lucky time to win money.
He adds that if I don’t pass on this message to at least five people I will be dogged by bad luck for the next 823 years. I wouldn’t want that, so here it is.
Some people place great faith in the magic of numbers. Numerologists believe there’s a mystic link between the numbers in your life and the things that happen – or will happen – to you.
Add up the numbers in your name and the numbers in your partner’s name and they’ll show you whether you are compatible or not.
I’m rather sceptical about this. You were probably allocated a name by your parents, and usually for quite a frivolous reason.
Maybe they admired a certain film star so they named you Wayne. Or your father secretly snuck in the name of his first girlfriend and called you Julienne.
Maybe your dad wanted to suck up to his rich father-in-law, so he gave you the same name. If you then allocate numbers to the letters of your name and use them to predict your future, you are basing your fate on a forgotten lover, a rich crook or a fictitious cowboy.
So, while the Chinese excitement about having five weekends this month may be an interesting phenomenon, remember it is based on a calendar that was compiled in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a convenient way to keep track of the year.
Before that millions and millions of people lived and died without the benefit of Gregory’s numbering system.
There are other calendars in use around the world, so you may even be using the wrong one.
The Chinese calendar says we are about to enter the Year of the Rat, which will probably prove to be an auspicious year for politicians.
Last Laugh:
A young woman entered for a university exam in which the paper consisted of questions that required her to tick either a “yes” or “no” box.
She opened the question paper, took out a coin and began tossing it. Whenever it came down heads she answered “yes”. If it landed on tails she ticked the “no” box.
After a short time she had finished the paper and began tossing the coin again and occasionally altering her original answer.
The examiner noticed this and asked her what she was doing.
“I finished the paper half an hour ago,” she explained. “Now I’m just checking my answers.”