Re: Why is it called "up"?

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Roderick Smith (rodsmith@werple.net.au) wrote:
> Somebody asked about the silly numbers attached to the basic double
> alpabetic notation (origin, destination).  The opening one is a code for
> day of departure, using Portuguese & Brazilian numbering (1 = Sunday), and
> not that used by every other railway system and all airlines.

This is a glorious example of buracracy killing thousands of years of
tradition. 1 = Sunday is traditionally correct, but a committee decided
they knew better.


>From the Calendar FAQ:

The Bible clearly makes Saturday (the Sabbath) the last day of the week.
Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as
the first day of the week. The Portuguese name for Monday is 'segunda-feira',
or 'second day'. In international standard IS-8601, the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be
the first day of the week.


Another example is leap day. Julius Caesar decided that in leap years the
6th day before the first day (Kalendae) of March should be doubled as the
leap day. This means the leap day is 24th February. Some countries such as
Finland, Sweden and Austria celebrate name days on different days
depending on whether or not it is a leap year. For example, the feast of
St. Leander has been celebrated on 27 February in non-leap years and on 28
February in leap years. In another glorious example of buracracy gone mad,
the EU had decreed that the leap day shall be 29 February.

Cheers
David