# What will we call the 2000-2009 decade?

1. Dec 8, 2009

### Richard87

We have the 20s through the 90s for the decades 1920s to 1990s, but how will we refer back to this decade? We're in the last month of the decade and we still have no name for it.

Last edited: Dec 8, 2009
2. Dec 8, 2009

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
Re: What will we call this decade?

It was called the oughts in the previous century.

But don't get ahead of yourself, in spite of the media starting to talk about the best of the decade, we have 1 year left in this decade.

There are 10yrs in a decade right?

When you start counting how often do you start with zero rather then 1?

3. Dec 8, 2009

### mgb_phys

Re: What will we call this decade?

I think we are going to just quietly draw a veil over it and not mention it

4. Dec 8, 2009

### leroyjenkens

Re: What will we call this decade?

Every century people go through this. There should be a solution to this problem by now.

5. Dec 8, 2009

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
Yeah, 10 yrs ago I had to point out to nearly everybody I knew that there was NO year zero. So the first year of the first decade of the first century was year 1, not year 0. It all follows from there.

2000 was the last year of the 20th century, there seems to be some justice in that, No?

6. Dec 8, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

We will call it decade of PF

7. Dec 8, 2009

### Astronuc

Staff Emeritus
Oh 0s.

or

Oh S0s

or

Dumb0s (Zz might like that one)

or

Cheeri0s. :rofl:

8. Dec 8, 2009

### Astronuc

Staff Emeritus
PF0s

9. Dec 8, 2009

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
Works for me, IIRC I first registered in Dec 01.

10. Dec 8, 2009

### lisab

Staff Emeritus
Time magazine called it the http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1942834-1,00.html" [Broken].

Last edited by a moderator: May 4, 2017
11. Dec 8, 2009

### Jimmy Snyder

The naughty aughties has been suggested.

12. Dec 8, 2009

### GeorginaS

That's pretty accurate.

Last edited by a moderator: May 4, 2017
13. Dec 8, 2009

### leroyjenkens

It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for 9/11. That could ruin any decade.

Last edited by a moderator: May 4, 2017
14. Dec 8, 2009

### waht

15. Dec 8, 2009

### noblegas

Basically the 90's without the decent music and minus the cynicism; I say our generation, people who grew up as young adults and into adulthood in this decade should appropriately be called the entitlement decade, where we think we are entitled to free things because many products are now easily available on the internet, where a decade a go they were not .

16. Dec 8, 2009

### Jimmy Snyder

Jimmy is a nice name.

17. Dec 8, 2009

### Chi Meson

Ten years ago I thought of calling them the "twenty-Os."

18. Dec 8, 2009

### Astronuc

Staff Emeritus
jimmy0s

19. Dec 8, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

Good luck with that Integral....I tried to explain it at my Y2K party that we were celebrating a year too soon but it didn't go over well.

20. Dec 8, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

I saw that - I'm cancelling my subscription.

Last edited by a moderator: May 4, 2017
21. Dec 8, 2009

### DaveC426913

Re: What will we call this decade?

All the time. I'm a programmer.

It'll be called The Naughties.

22. Dec 8, 2009

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
I think I saw a light come on in ONE person I talked to. Drives me crazy!

23. Dec 8, 2009

### Integral

Staff Emeritus
Re: What will we call this decade?

Sheesh! There is one in every crowd! Even so, if you owed me a $1000 I bet you would start with 1 when you layed down that first$100!

24. Dec 8, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

My proudest achievment in all my years of education was when I was awarded a can of Coke by my 7th grade math teacher for winning a bet with him that there was no zero year. I had happened to watch an episode of 3-2-1 Contact on the subject a few days before and called him out when he made an error about it. He never admitted being wrong*, but bought me the soda anyway. I'm counting it as a win.

*He goal-post shifted and said he really meant there was a zero point.

25. Dec 9, 2009

### Chi Meson

When we talked about "2000", we were (generally) referring to the "end of the 2nd millennium" and correctly it ended at the end of 2000. But we are NEVER going to fix this in the minds of people, especially ten years later (and Integral, when my kids were born, it took a whole year before we said they were "1." This perception dominates all other considerations, and is what makes the correction nearly impossible. We have to let it go!)

However,

When referring to decades, we are ONLY referring to how they are spoken. The "80s" were a ten year span in which the date included saying "eighty-___." This included 1980 itself. This past year, everyone said "two-thousand-four" or "two thousand and five" and such.

I predicted people would be saying "twenty-O-four" and "twenty-O-eight."

Nope.

But I do think that in a few decades, we will be saying the years as "twenty-thirteen" and "Twenty-twenty-five" etc. By that time, I am certain we will retro-activley refer to this ten year span in the manner of "twenty-O-seven" etc. Thus, I'm sticking with "Twenty-Os."

Give it time.