ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220032
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: At the closing ceremonies of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Juan Antonio Samaranch announced that these were to be the last games of this century and that the 2000 Olympics in Sydney would be the first of the next. My question is: did he mean the Olympic Century or the 21st century? I was under the impression that the new century started in 2001.
Also, who decides when the new century does begin and who keeps the clock that will precisely measure it?
J.G., Vinton
A: Samaranch apparently referred to the Olympic century, because the calendar century will be in its last year, not the beginning of a new one.
Who decides when the new century begins? Logical thinking yields one answer, and our emotions may yield another.
A lot of folks are going to pop the corks for a major celebration when 1999 expires. Most of the hotels near Times Square already are booked. And with some justification.
Jan. 1, 2000 is going to be a big hurdle to jump. We'll be confronted with changes, little and big. Checks will be dated in error; some computer programs (most of them in Washington) are going to think we've begun the year 1900.
Our perceptions and binary codes are not always correct, though.
Fact: The new century begins Jan. 1, 2001.
That was decided in the year 525, or thereabouts, when Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman monk, designed a calendar that reckoned all dates as either B.C. or A.D.
The year before 1 A.D. was 1 B.C., with no year 0 between. It was an arbitrary decision, but it stuck.
The modern, or Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582, also skips that zero.
Therefore, we can't complete a century, or a millennium, until we've completed the year ending in 00.
There's no rule that says fact has to stand in the way of a good time, though. Some folks are planning big blowouts on Dec. 31 of both years, just to make sure everything's covered.
The clock that measures our time most precisely is at the Naval Observatory in Washington.
Walnut Ave. bridge
Q: What is happening on the construction project for the Walnut Avenue bridge in Roanoke? When I pass there, it doesn't seem as if much progress is being made, and from the Jefferson Street side, the old bridge is still standing. A.L., Roanoke A: The first point to remember is, there are two bridges on Walnut Avenue. One crosses the railroad and the other crosses the river.
The river bridge has been torn down, but that work's not visible from Jefferson Street.
The project was delayed because of mud under one abutment. A new design has it back on schedule for completion in December, said Jan Bruce of Roanoke's engineering department.
When it's finished, the new bridge will blend with the span over the railroad and look like one continuous bridge, Bruce said.
Both will have new lights with an old-fashioned appearance, similar to those on the nearby Jefferson Street bridge.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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