Re: !0-day week (WAS: The English/French counting system (WAS: number systemsfromconlangs))

On Wednesday, September 17, 2003, at 09:11 , Mark J. Reed wrote:

> On Wed, Sep 17, 2003 at 08:49:35PM +0100, Ray Brown wrote:
> In any case, the 10-day week doesn't seem to have been popular among the
> ordinary working people & peasants who found their working week lengthened
> & were quite glad, I believe, to revert to the 7-day week - thus Boney won
> even more supporters   :)
>
> "Boney"?
>
> "BONEY"?!
>
> You're just lucky he's not around to see that, buddy!
Nah - in fact I suspect I'd have been even more likely to say that if I'd
been around when he was.  Altho he tried more than once, he was no more
successful in invading my island than was Hitler.
 =========================================================================
PS - apologies if I've offended the sensibilities of Christophe or any of
his
compatriots.  But I have heard from the lips of a French women from the
center
of the Hexagon, when I mention Boney's name: "Pouf, he was a butcher!"

Besides, after all this time, 'Boney' sounds almost affectionate  :-)
 =========================================================================
On Wednesday, September 17, 2003, at 09:22 , Tim May wrote:

> Mark J. Reed wrote at 2003-09-17 16:11:45 (-0400)
>>
>> Shortsighted of the workers, anyway.  A 7-workday week with a 3-day
>> weekend works out to an extra day off every 70 days compared to our
>> 5-workday week with a 2-day weekend.  In the large, they were
>> better off under the other system, even if it meant going longer
>> between weekends. :)
>>
>> -Mark
>>
> But they didn't get a three-day weekend.  My impression is that they
> got one day off per cycle either way.
Quite right!

The 7-day week systems means 52 days off, the 10-day week means
36 days off!.

Of course I know the first system has one or two days over each year,
and the latter system 5 or six days, so it's not quite that simple.  Both
systems did also supplement the 'one day of a week' with public
holidays.  But for my part, if give the choice of working six days with
one day off, or week nine-days with one day off, I know which I'd
prefer!

On Wednesday, September 17, 2003, at 10:13 , Mark J. Reed wrote:

> On Wed, Sep 17, 2003 at 09:22:56PM +0100, Tim May wrote:
>> But they didn't get a three-day weekend.  My impression is that they
>> got one day off per cycle either way.
>
> Oh.  Well, in that case, the culotteless missed a chance.
Didn't get a chance.  It was a revolution in which the bourgeoisie of
the 'Enlightenment' overthrew the old order of the aristos.

> Could
> have gone from the 7-day week with one day off to a 10-day week
> with two days off; the 40% increase in time off would have made
> instant friends among the workers. :)
Whether under the old regime, the Revolutionaries or good 'ol
Boney, workers & peasants were cannon fodder.

Ray
===============================================
ray.brown@freeuk.com    (home)
raymond.brown@kingston-college.ac.uk   (work)
http://home.freeuk.com/ray.brown
===============================================