Couch Competition: Counting Time

How people mark the beginning and ending of a year has varied throughout history. 

This week’s trivia challenge by Sarah Phelan-Blamires, public services librarian at Whitman County Library, tests your knowledge of calendar systems.

The Whitman County Library’s online trivia challenge takes place at 5:30 p.m. the third Thursday of each month on its Facebook page.

1. What calendar system do we use today (in the U.S. as well as most of the world)?


2. The ancient Egyptian calendar was also 365 days long, with the first day of the year beginning when the sky’s brightest star, _______, rose with the sun.


3. Which two months in our current calendar system were named after Roman emperors?


4. The Aztec calendar is circular with a “century” that lasts many years? 


5. The word “month” is thought to have originated from this method of measuring time?

ANSWERS

1. Gregorian.


2. Sirius.


3. July and August.


4. The Aztec calendar consists of a 365-day cycle and a 260-day ritual cycle. These two cycles together form a 52-year "century.”


5. The lunar calendar used the phases of the moon to measure time. The word “month” is believed to come from the word “moon.”