Why August 27,1883?

And the answer is . . .

(If you have no idea what this is in reference to, read "Alphabet Soup" posted July 17).

Monday, August 27, 1883 has been called the day the world exploded. It is the date that 2/3 of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa disintegrated in the most catastrophic volcanic explosion in human history. Its shock wave traveled around the world 7 times. Temperatures dropped world-wide and sunsets were strikingly different in color and aspect due to the resulting dust swirling around the earth for years afterward. Its effects were felt and seen around the world; it was also heard around the world. The explosion itself could be heard thousands of miles away; in addition to this the invention of the telegraph and the newly laid sub-oceanic cables meant that news of the event was broadcast globally within moments of its occurrence. It is the first major world event for which this is true thus making it a herald for the technological information age.

The fact that this date represents a geologic event rather than the birth date of a historic, nationalistic or religious human figure makes it a particularly fitting choice since no one need feel slighted in terms of race, nationality or creed. Just as the sun is the basis for the length of the year and the moon is the basis for the length of a month, an earth-related event would now be the basis for the assigning of dates.

So, to the sensitive PC people of the world, I humbly submit my recommendation of Monday, August 27, 1883 as the new basis for a truly politically correct calendar. Oh, and don’t forget to use Mayan numeration as suggested on my earlier post – tolerate no more the oppressive BC/AD/BCE/CE Latin alphabetic notation!

(My apologies to all the school children who will have to forget the dates 1066, 1215, 1492, 1588, and 1776, but those are all such Western/Eurocentric dates anyway.)

NB: To those of you who know me well, the fact that my birthday would become an annual holiday by falling on New Year’s Day is strictly a coincidence. The selection of this date was entirely objective – no ulterior motives were involved – nor were any animals harmed in the publication of this post.