present decade could be called:
the naughts, the oughts, the zeros, the zips, the nothings, the < >'s
(a moment of silence followed by an s sound)... the nows and later the
back thens....
or the back-then-whens... I prefer the naughts, but is it the naughts,
nots, or knots...? oh, the knots, yes-- the twisted decade!
But he only replied:
Tens, then teens. Final answer.
To which I replied:
not my final answer Regis!
But here's why...
the tens *are* the teens, seems to me. Because the 30's start with 30,
20's start with 20, so the 10's start with 10. "ten" meaning a number
like one-zero implies that the tens must start with a one, just as
"twenty" being a two-zero kind of amount implies that the twenties all
start with a two. Right on down-- excuse me, up-- the line to 90/90's.
So if the decade's last double digits all start with zeros, the name has
to suggest zero somewhere in it. If you call right now the tens, then a
year like 2046 would have to be called the "50's". Logical in the
"right now is the 21st century" kind of way, but impractical for every
day use.
Go ahead, tell me I spend too much time on trivial things. I like it.
adding to which...
...because basically what the teens are is a way to confuse people who are first learning languages. Yes, it's all a plot, designed by evil camping tents and a stoned mathematician. Stick with me here, it'll make sense in a bit.
The teens all start with one. Logically, they should be "onety one,
onety two, but that suffers a similar fate to the Oneders in That Thing
You Do. Could be tenty one, tenty two, but the tents got jealous and
started collapsing on people who used their name in vain, so some guy
got really out of it one night and developed the teens. An insane way
of counting, really; the rest of the world went along with it just as a
joke until they realised the guy was serious. By then, it was too late,
and now we're stuck with it.
Just one thing strikes me...
odd that while the tents were arguing, there likewise weren't problems
with forts, which would have actually caused bigger, heavier (quite
literally!) problems.
But still he argued: "tens, teens, twenties, and no-one gets a migraine."
but it's *not* the tens, unless the teens are the twenties, the twenties are the thirties, the thirties are the forties, the forties are the fifties, the fifties are the sixties, the sixties are the seventies, the seventies are the eighties, and the eighties are the nineties, in which case we're right back where we started when we get to what was formerly called the nineties!
And don't tell me they'd be the tens, coz then the teens would be the thirties!
if he wants a migraine, he'll GET one!!!