Why is there debate over when one decade ends and another begins?
Jerry Carnes
Replay Video
UP NEXT
Some believe the decade of the 20s began this past January, while others believe it begins January 1, 2021.
It seems the debate over when one decade ends and another begins is as old as time itself.
“When we talk about the 60s, the 70s, the 90s, we’re referring to the period that begins with zero,” says Janice Stillman of the Farmer’s Almanac.
17% of the people responding to that survey believe a decade begins in a year ending in one, like 2021.
Stillman tells us it all goes back to a 6th Century Monk named Dionysius Exiguus whose work led to the creation of the Gregorian calendar we now use.