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It's not completely arbitrary, it matches the way we write out full dates or speak then aloud. January 2nd, 1900 becomes 1/2/1900.
by tdeck 6y ago
It's not completely arbitrary, it matches the way we write out full dates or speak then aloud. January 2nd, 1900 becomes 1/2/1900.
- zeckalpha 6y agoThat is also arbitrary.
- crehn 6y agoTotally arbitrary. In French 2ème Janvier 1900 would be the most common.
- tdeck 6y agoI mean, it's no more arbitrary than any other order. In the context of "why does American English use this ordering", it has the desirable characteristic that it matches how we express dates in our everyday language. A trade-off exists between that characteristic and the desire to have the date go from smallest to largest or vice versa, but both approaches have practical benefits.