What To Name ... This Decade - Comments Page 3

Part of: Puddle of Suss

Six years into this decade and we have yet to agree on a numerical nickname for this time period.

2005 is almost over. That's six years of this decade. And it hit me last night — we as a society have failed to come up with a name for this decade.…
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  • 76 - randy frushour

    Oct 17, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    HISTORY IS HERE - IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!
    Hey GUErra take that! Today October 17, 2008, on Google's firstpage search results for "decade name" Bogcritics.org - this blog, is listed number nine out of the top ten, and GUEss whose words are taglined. Mine not yours. Why? Must be pop culture's answer again ... and again and again.
    Search any search engine no matter how hard you try it Ryan it's Randy they are highlighting and for real reasons. I did the math including counting all preceeding decades and their years succinctly and the fact that there was no year Zero AD or BC. It started with year one as does - and has to - every numbered decade if we consider this question in a historical light. Wikipedia as I see it struck out on the(ir) same course of thinking and they even virtually announced that one of our previous decades may have had nine years and so we could account for this decade beginning at 2000. Anyone would agree that's pathetic if again I may offer some constructive criticism. Jimmy Wales under guise one day confronted me online and told me to take a hike as because I have my own website to say what I think. I personally could care less but can you actually see Bill O'Reilly or Katie coming on air to announce that "coming after the break, we will take a look at Visa's projected earnings of the decade uh, um, well the um, uh, duh?" Huh?
    My taglines at Goolge's search result today - and above here (are) - "No one seems to note the Yahoo Google answer to the "decade name" search. Try it - it comes up again and the same as it's been resulting for 6 years now. ...". Those were my words. Huh, you don't say!

    WHAT DO YOU SAY?
    Ha!

  • 77 - Brian Laskiewicz

    Jan 01, 2009 at 2:57 am

    This is my first post, so I'll address a few topics: 2000 decade, 2009 decade, and 20-XX vs 2,0XX speak.

    Here's one for the 2000-2009 decade. I am surprised that this suggestion has not popped up much (if at all) before, the "Nullies," which works well as far as the sound of the spoken word in the name sequence "seventies, eighties, nineties, and the nullies," while using a less common but abstract and well-enough known variation of "zero." At the same time "nullies" (or "nulls") captures a level of mathematical sophistication (recalling the "null set") but sounds relatively modern. Anything sounding like "naught(ies)" or "aught(ies)" may have been common before and have had precedent 100 years ago, but sounds too outdated in this era since people really do not speak that way, as I have never heard a year of this decade spoken as "twenty-(n)aught ___," although I have on occasion heard "twenty o-____" in media or actually used by a State Judge while in Court and on the record.

    As far as the 2010-2019 decade, I do not have an answer yet. "Teens" doesn't sound right on various grounds, like not accounting for 2010-2012 and being too commonly associated or confused with an age and stage of life focusing on our high school years. "Tens" sounds better but does not match with the common lexicon that includes some form of "-ies" as a suffix. Perhaps "tennies" could be suggested, but I have never heard this term with regard to the past or near future, and such would need to gain some greater usage, whereas "nulls" or "nullies" at least have other established linguistic uses.

    As far as speaking of the year names, I believe that by sometime next year, 2010 will commonly be spoken as "twenty ten." Already I am hearing more and more references in media these days. The spoken name seems to vary by individual commentators these days, though there I have noticed (at least anecdotally) an increase in "twenty" at the expense of "two thousand" for years 2010 and beyond. I have long felt the switch would be at 2009-2010 (two thousand nine and then twenty ten, which would make for some interesting applications, such as the "two thousand nine-twenty ten" NBA or NHL seasons), and I was encouraged by a recent ESPN broadcast discussing Mike Holmgren's coaching career, indicating he would sit out the "two thousand nine" season and later decide if he would coach in the "twenty ten" season, all spoken as such in the same sentence. Upcoming Olympics billing "Vancouver twenty ten" and "London twenty twelve" are also encouraging and highly visible signs. Given the nature of the English language to have years spoken as a combination of a pair of double-digit numbers (17-76, not 1,776 - unlike many other languages), it is even very conceivable that our current decade years will be retroactively be spoken as "twenty o-___" instead of "two thousand ___." I suspect, however, that 2000 will still be known as "two thousand" (as there is too much allure in the zeroes).

  • 78 - Ryan Guerra

    Feb 19, 2009 at 3:11 am

    Well, it looks like one company is going to put their money were my mouth is. Biscayne Lady Yacht Charters is going to celebrate a cruise dedicated to closing out the Unies and ringing in the Decies.

    HA!

    Sorry but this New Year's Cruise is going to be off the hook.

    HA!

  • 79 - John Boston

    Feb 24, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    I just found myself reflexively referring to the years 2000-2005 as "the early aughts" in a text message. My gut confirms "the aughts" is the most elegant and correct handle for this quite over-ripe, soon to drop, decade.

  • 80 - Ryan Guerra

    May 01, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    Matt,

    I just sent you an email. Please take a moment to reflect on the Unies (00s) and the Decies (10s).

    Why the Unies? Because it simply stands the test of time. All the numbers between 0 and 9 are one digit. Uni means one, like unicycle and unicorn. It is also a prefix that means to come together to make one; like a university is a bunch of colleges.

    People can use for age too. I'm in my thirties and my little sister is in her unies.

    Finally, it works in the decade. I've been trying to name the decade throught the entire twenty-unies, 00s, 2000s.

    Don't forget the next decade, the Decies! 2010s.

  • 81 - Alan Hagdorn

    May 02, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Zeroties Ze • rot • ies
    • This decade (2000-2009) needs a name and Zeroties is it.
    • Like the Twenties, Thirties, Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties, Zeroties follows the pattern.
    • Zeroties is up against one other candidate name - Aughties/Oughties. This British word "aught" means zero and does not appeal to Americans. (As a hidden bonus, when you say Zeroties, you hear "Aughties" in the middle.)
    • Zeroties makes sense because zero has been a very dominant idea and word in this decade.
    • Zeroties "says" zero ties the decade together... ...and it really does.
    • Once everyone sees the need for and usefulness of the word Zeroties, it will win their hearts and minds.
    • Zero has been my hero ever since School House Rocks declared it so. Ever since kindergarten, zero has rolled off our rounded lips.
    • "The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. For centuries, the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest controversies of all time, the quest for the theory of everything." Charles Seife (2000) "Infinity is zero with a twist." Alan Hagedorn
    • Zero is both the lowest and the mightiest number. It is a value of none, but it makes the place-value system work. 1 is 1 until 12 zeros follow it. Then, it jumps all the way to a trillion...1,000,000,000,000 Wow! That is going to be a "looo,ooo,ooo,ooot" to pay back.
    Y2K (Year 2000) The world panicked about how computer programs might crash because they didn't have 4 spaces for dealing with years. Computers registered the year 2000 as 00 and thought it is before 1999, which they recorded as 99.
    Zero major world crisis caused by Y2K
    Zero airplanes in the air on New Year's night for most airlines
    Since there is no year 0 in the calendar, the new millennium didn't even start on January 1, 2000...feeling duped we learn it starts on January 1, 2001 --but just like with odometers we love to see the 9's turn into 0's (we prefer zeros over new millenniums)
    Zero center - the Internet was conceived in the 60's-90's it was designed to be nuclear attack proof or to have no destroyable center, thus it is a center less network or a net...this decade it dominated the world
    Ground Zero -- The catastrophe of the 9/11(01) - The anchor of this decade and this proposal
    Zero Tolerance Policies - get IU's Bobby Knight fired and Swiss Army knife carrying Kindergarteners expelled
    Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation -- blockbuster book published in 2003
    Marine "motto" Leave No Man Behind goes to education No Child Left Behind
    Zero percent - the US household savings rate in 2005 and 2006
    Zero Grams of Sugar rather than Sugar Free
    CocaColaZero (and Pepsi One - how perfect for the digital age)...Coke runs commercials about how CocaColaZero steals the recipe of Coke ...Powerade Zero
    Pure Zer0 -- Diet Rite's name for its -- 0calories 0carbs 0caffeine 0sodium colas
    Diet Pepsi packaging - 0 Cal Carb Sug
    Zero Caolories... ...Zero Calorie Sweetener - Pure Via
    Zero Down ... Zero Interest ... Zero Payments
    Zero, Zero, Zero Sales by GM ...and everyone else
    "Hurricane Katrina Zeros in on New Orleans" - as many stories read
    Zero costs [Free music, free Internet, free web pages, free computers] -- the "Napsterification" of media (like the Wal-Mart Effect) -- Napster 1999 (Metallica lawsuit 2000), NetZero 1998 (charges $ in 2001), Facemash/Facebook Oct. 28 2003, MySpace Aug 2003, Free laptop programs, YouTube (free on-line video space), Limewire ... "Naption" is a good short form of "Napsterification" ["nap" (to steal as in kidnap) + "tion" the process of]
    Zero Grams of Fat... Zero Grams of Trans Fat - from McDonald's fries to Girl Scout cookies
    0.???? second Google searches
    16-0 Patriots (2007) 0-16 Lions (2008)
    Oprah O Magazine, Obama O Logo
    Globalization 3.0 from The World is Flat (the 10 world flatteners converge in 2000)(Today, we say 3.0, rather than version 3)
    The Oval is the logo shape of the decade - look at car company logos...
    Zero Weapons of Mass Destruction found
    Michael Phelps wins his 7th of 8 Gold Medals by .01 seconds...effectively zero
    Chinese Olympics "Bird's Nest" a big Zero
    Zero percent net gain for the NY Stock Market from 1998 to 2008
    Zero new large malls built in America in 2007, 2008, and 2009
    Zero or No Income Verification Loans
    Zero principal payment loans
    Zero Degrees - or a Credit Freeze
    Zero Dollar is mockingly passed out on Wall Street
    Zero International banks were willing to make interbank loans at the global interbank clearinghouse in New York City at the height of the meltdown -- this was the official credit freeze 10/10/2008 - this bank-to-bank loan exchange is in-between Ground Zero and Wall Street...which are themselves less than 10 blocks apart --this event is the key part of
    ...the "Economic Ground Zero"
    Salary Freezes - Home Depot leads the way
    Zero raises in many governments
    Pay freeze for top 100 White House Officials
    Digital TV (Digital information is all coded as Zero's and One's) - digital everything - binary bliss
    2009 in binary is 00110010001100000011000000111001
    Zero Percent Federal Funds rate - many things in the list like this, insiders would see as rare absurdities
    Already with no calories, Diet Mountain Dew changes its label from "Low Calorie" to Zero Calories
    NASA's new fascination is studying Dark Matter -- the nothing in outer space
    Zero Environmental Footprint
    Zero Carbon Emissions
    Zero Pollution ... Zero Waste Factories
    Commissioned in 2005 and finished in 2008 the world's largest particle accelerator CERN is located between France and Switzerland - it is going to be used to crash particles at the fastest speed ever (near the speed of light) in order to recreate the Big Bang like at the "Zero Hour at Ground Zero" or the creation of everything from the center
    "Zero cocaine, not zero coca" US and Bolivia official anti-cocaine policy in 2006
    Restaurant growth may be below 1% (or 0%) for the first time since it was measured in 1970
    For a time Citi (Citigroup/Citibank) - Citibank was the US's largest bank in May 2008 and Citigroup is the world's largest financial network -- trades on Wall Street for less than a dollar $0.?? ... ...threatening its listing status
    41 Companies trimmed or eliminated their dividends by $40 Billion - Blue Chip Stocks with Zero dividends? ... GE, JP Morgan, Dow Chemical
    Treasury Bills sold for "Zero" percent returns - during the economic collapse foreigners battle to buy safe US debt
    During this last year Federal Funds of about 1 Trillion have been created and distributed -- this trillion dollars is merely digits in a computer - literally nothing
    $ 165 million given to AIG execs as bonuses, 3/17/09 members of Congress propose a 100% tax to get the money back - AIG chairman is only earning $1 a year
    In Pontiac, Michigan the school system gave every employee a pink slip - potentially all employees could lose their job...or Zero keep them
    Zero production - GM to shut down most factories for 9 weeks
    Zero percent inflation in US 1/08 to 1/09
    Sub-Zero percent growth -- US Gross Domestic Product will show a decline this year of about 5%
    Sub-Zero percent growth of Gross World Product (the first time that total world output has declined on record) IMF predicts -1.3%
    "O CRDT CHKS" (Zero Credit Checks) Billboard by SafeAuto
    Zero Tolerance -- for ocean pirates - a policy adopted by EU and France (and US)
    Zero Negotiations -- a new way that we are saying we won't negotiate with pirates/terrorist
    Zero Tolerance - the new policy of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (and PTC) to stop electronic piracy of copyrighted materials
    Just for fun and a sign of what we can all uncover if we look at this decade through our very gr00vy New Year's Double Zero glasses 2009:
    Zero people claiming fault for the world financial mess
    Zero middle ground between those who loved and those who hated George W. Bush
    Claims of "zero attacks on US soil" since 9/11
    Effectively, zero net jobs created by Bush Administration -- losing them at about 20,000 jobs per day by the Inaugural
    There is no doubt in business, advertisement, government programming, popular culture, language development, digital advancement and historic circles that ZERO dominates or TIES the landscape of this decade and has left its footprint everywhere. As the decade closes out, Zero's momentum grows and now is the time for us to adopt common use of the name and capture the collective experience of everyone. [edited]

  • 82 - Emily

    May 17, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    THE ZEROTIES!

  • 83 - Princeton

    Jun 06, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    I call this decade the "Ohties", to me it seems well ok lol, 01, 02, 03, 04 etc...well thats my opinion.

  • 84 - Dr Dreadful

    Jun 06, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    "What To Name... This Decade?"

    Derek?

  • 85 - jill

    Jul 19, 2009 at 7:29 am

    It's called the "Ones" I learned that in first grade.... the ones,the teens, the 20's and so on.....

  • 86 - shane

    Nov 20, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Its 2009 by the time i write this. I have known the past 9 years as the ''Naughties''

    as in the '0' not the bad sense!

    My main question in 2010-2012, after that we can say teenies or summin like that, but what about 2010-2012?

  • 87 - blah

    Dec 09, 2009 at 8:17 am

    James Bond all the way. I'm calling the decade the Double 0's.

  • 88 - perma

    Dec 21, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    The 'Duped Decade"...Iraq, Wall St, Tiger Woods, John Edwards, Steroids,Bernie Madoff...man fell for everything and questioned nothing!

  • 89 - Niggatron

    Dec 28, 2009 at 3:34 am

    Name for our new decade? "The Endies" as in soon to come to an end. Yeah I made the word "endies" up, go fuck yourself.

  • 90 - Maggie LaNoue

    Dec 31, 2009 at 5:32 am

    The new name of this past decade is the TwentiOs.
    Please spread the word.

  • 91 - Maggie LaNoue

    Dec 31, 2009 at 5:43 am

    This past decade could properly be called the TwentiOs. There is a facebook fan page for the name, and a logo. The naming convention will also work in previous and future centuries if you read the info on the page. Search on Facebook for TwentiOs.

  • 92 - Mary Given

    Jan 01, 2010 at 9:08 am

    Name this decade the "Double Naughts" (00)due to all taxpaper money gone, ponzie schemes, Wall Street failures, no end to war, no jobs for anyone, double whammy to USA prestige abroad and on and on.......

  • 93 - Jon LG

    Jan 06, 2010 at 11:23 am

    The To Owe's

  • 94 - eclectric

    Jan 13, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    2001-2010 the space oddity decade

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