February 2017 Has 4 of Each Day for First Time in 823 Years-Truth! & Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Each day of the week falls four times in February 2017 for the first time in 823 years.
The Truth:
Each day of the week falls four times in February 2017 — but that won’t be the first time that’s happened in 823 years.
In fact, each day of the week fell four times in February 2016. That’s because each day of the week falls four times in February every six years, and twice in a row every 11 years.
That means each day fell four times in February 2016, it happened again in February 2017, and it will happen again in February 2023, making claims about it happens every 823 years false.
Rumors about four perfect weeks in February for the first time in 823 years are similar to common rumors about there being five weekends in a given month for the first time in 823 years. And again, the 823-year claim rings false. Nearly every calendar year has a month with five weekends — in 2017 December will have five perfect weekends. It’s not very rare, TimeandDate.com explains:
In fact, a calendar month that contains 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays occurs nearly every year. In 2019 March will have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays.
In fact, the calendar 823 years in the future is not even the same as the calendar of the month in the many versions of the hoax! For instance, August 2014 had 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. 823 years later, August 2837 has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, and 5 Mondays.
The combinations of days these messages or emails refer to are also not very special. This is because the first 3 weekdays of any 31-day month are repeated 5 times within that month. So, any month that has 31 days and begins on a Friday will have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. Similarly, any 31-day month that begins on a Tuesday, will have 5 Tuesdays, 5 Wednesdays, and 5 Thursdays.
Like five-weekend month claims, rumors that February 2017 has four of each day for the first time in 823 years are false. February 2017 has four of each day, but that occurs at least once every six years.