Why do the Americans write the date the wrong way round?

Question

All measurements are written in a specific order such as hours, minutes and seconds, or, hundreds tens and units so why in the American dating system do they insist on putting the date and the month in a totally illogical order?

Answer 1

I guess it must come down to how the month can be no larger than 12, whereas the day can be up to 31. So the smallest number goes first (month) and the largest last (year).

Perhaps the Americans thought 12/31 looks more aesthetically pleasing than 31/12 as it looks more orderly...

Answer 2

America broke away from English Customs. Hence the "totally illogical order" of our date! Month, Day, Year



September 9, 2006 vs. 9 September 2006

Answer 3

We do a lot of things stupid.

Yes I am an American, but I have to admit it, we (collective) do a lot of things stupid.



We are the ONLY country in the world that hasn't adopted the Metric System! How stupid and arrogant is that?

I don't know what system the rest of the world uses for dates but I use the COMPUTER SYSTEM. lol



As for todays date I use the format 2006-09-09 (Full Year, Month, Day. and note I use leading zeros. That way computer programs can sort by Year, Month, and Day and won't get them out of order.) If you don't use leading zeros the months would look like this. 1,10,11,12,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and the days would be even more messed up.

Answer 4

Good question - I've often wondered too. It seems harder to imagine a gradual change like you can with the simplification of various spellings such a colour, tyre, etc. Even in the UK we often say "April the 12th" rather than "the 12th of April" so maybe that practice overrode the more logical ordering by rate of change. Even in the UK we are not consistent: we order our dates with the fastest changing (days) first but our times with the slowest changing (hours) first.

Answer 5

They just want to. 09-09-2006 versus 09-09-2006 Yeah... I mean September 9th.2006 vs 9th.Spetember 2006. Cop vs policeman, cab vs taxi, color vs colour, glasses vs spectacles, soccer vs football, etc.etc. I used to work in Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. a couple of decades ago... it took me some time to become 'American' because I was schooled in British system. Then, it took me another some time when I try to adapt back to British system when I left Chase. Well... it's just because thay want to and because they can... like what they always did and will always do. You know the story... blah blah blah!!!! It's their way or no way! He he!!! I love something American though, like Elvis and Walt Disney. Godbloodygood!!!

Answer 6

the first american put this system didn't care a lot about years they made it month then day which is logic enough, then when they developed a little and discovered the importance of year they added it in the last which is the nowaday formula

just suggestion!!!

Answer 7

Have you ever seen a fish on a flowing water. They want to swim opposite to the water flow direction. But cannot do because of the current.



Americans are a combination of all those people who in actual world did not get enough chance to prove themselves. So to keep their esteem or keep themselves safer they gathered together in that land. And then defined every thing differently. Different from that land where from they have to flee.



No offense. That's what history says.



So they are different. And no wonder there date system is also different than all others in the universe.

Answer 8

They used to it the "wrong" way even before computers, but still, for sorting files, say invoices, it's the better system, but only because most of the software we use was made for US Americans.

Does anyone know what the Canadians norm is?

Answer 9

Everyone in America knows what is meant when they see 9/11/01 or 12/3/50 or any other date. How is that better or worse than the way you write the date? It's simply what you are used to.

Answer 10

i don't know but why do the English and the American spell word different. i lived in the Caribbean and we spell stuff the American way on the island I'm from and when i came to live in England i always use to fail my spelling test and i wrote the date the American and my teacher use to get confused it's just confusing.

Answer 11

My best guess is that Americans write dates in the order they say them. It's much more common and natural to say "June tenth" instead of "the tenth of June" - and if you say "June tenth", it kind of makes sense to write the month before the day.



Personally, I don't think it really matters whether people write dates in month-day-year format or day-month-year format, but it would be nice if everybody wrote things the same way. Unfortunately, customs aren't easily changed... heck, in the U.S. we're still having trouble getting people to realize that the metric system makes much more sense than this mishmash of ounces and pounds and yards and inches!

Answer 12

Because they have to have their own 'lilt' on everything as they have no real culture to call their own they bastardise everything they encounter. Others have mentioned spelling of word such as check instead of check and what about their pronounciation of aluminium!!!! They even say the time differently - instead of saying 10:45 as quarter to eleven they say quarter of eleven. I guess it gives them a little something they can call their own. I mean - its not like the country they live in is theirs!!

Answer 13

Custom. It makes sense to us. Americans and Englishmen are divided by a common language!

Answer 14

For the same reason why they...

Call a game that involves holding an oblong thing that in no way resembles a ball .. that too with their bare hands.. a Football!!



Call a baseball tournament where no other country besides US (and perhaps canada) is represented .. a World Series!!!



The answer is simple dear, they are cocky, arrogant, brash and hypocrites, and they think distorting things make them great!!

Answer 15

He he, good question. 9/11 in European dates, would actually be the 9th of November. They spell "colour" as "color" and "cheque" as "check." They also have a different, inferior television system to us in Europe. I guess they just want to be different and that's their perogative. More power to them!

Answer 16

BECAUSE THEY ARE AMERICAN!!and pretty much please themselves the phrase i hate is american english...(cobblers its american,you dont say canadians speak canadian english do you i know the speak french as well) dont forget they (according to the head honcho in the white house..) are not oppressors..they are the worlds police. who wrote the book of world law then.(.was it an american?).but they aint oppressors sorry thats crap! who oppressed the native american indian then? if it was decided that all historical lands were to be returned to the native american indians..hardly anyone else in america would have anywhere to live!!(think about it..same applies to the native australian aborigine..) and who oppresssed the african americans..yep you got the idea...its all there in their 200+years history..read it then you will know..

Answer 17

lol! its actually nothing to do with their preference, spelling is though. its from the days of the imperial system which they still use whereas we in europe have mostly converted to the metric system, metres, kilograms etc.



the lucky peeps in america never had the french to bother them.... ;p

Answer 18

are there set standards for these things i should like to believe that it differs according to system ieamerican african asian etcjust as much as we have different taste how do you write it in chinese

Answer 19

Just to confuse the rest of the world :o)

Answer 20

At least we Americans drive on the right side of the road.

Can't argue that.

Answer 21

It's the" American way". You would have to ask whoever started it. We don't consider it the wrong way.

Answer 22

Its all a matter of preference. But damn it, I wish we were on the metric system. Its so damn easy.

Answer 23

lets see, there was a war in the past to prove we can do things on our own.. oh yes and we won. hmm imagine that.. so who makes who correct... in my opion its our choice on how we do it and we earned that choice.. so if you think we are idiots than look in the mirror cause i bet your not perfect either.

Answer 24

it differanciates between the americans and the british !!

Answer 25

then y do we write the date the wrong way around its a matter of preferance

Answer 26

For the same reason you drive on the wrong side of the road!

Answer 27

What diffrence does it make we get the date right

Answer 28

the same reason they drive on the wrong side of the road there backward lol!

Answer 29

they are living the day they are in. no need to look into near of far future.

Answer 30

cuz they're always the wrong way round!!!



they put F instead of C for temperature, feet instead of metres for height, lbs instead of kg for weight....and so on



they just want to be opposite evryone else, it's stupid

Answer 31

never try to work them out you will just end up with a headache lol

Answer 32

Because they can.



Let's face it the Americans own the world and can bastardise any language they chose to.

Answer 33

Who's to say what's right or wrong... or even logical, for that matter? You? I think NOT.

Answer 34

they like games alot

Answer 35

not sure what your talking about, when ever I- and most people I know- write the date; its in a format of mm/dd/yyyy.

Answer 36

They're American, you have to make allowances.

Answer 37

may be it`s traditonal.

Answer 38

because they think they are so advanced in some areas that they have forgotten how to be logical!!!

Answer 39

don't pick on the poor YANKS it's their fault if they are stupid uuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm YES IT IS

Answer 40

cos they dont know good sense when they see it