[Editors] question of style

[Tom Pixton]

On our home insurance form, we're asked to show the year the house 
was built, and given space for two digits. We purchased the house in 
1989, the house was built in 1889, we indicate "89." After a few 
years, we noticed we had been getting a discount every year for "new 
construction." After a few more years, at the risk of having to repay 
the discount, we let the agent know the actual date of our house. We 
were told that there was no provision in the "system" to display more 
than 2 digits, and that we would therefore continue to get the 
discount.

And you wonder why the Big Dig Tunnel leaks!

At 3:55 PM -0500 11/18/04, William T G Litant wrote:
>I'm often not clear what century it is.
>
>Bill
>
>Quoting Debbie Levey <levey at MIT.EDU>:
>
>>  	What's the convention for writing graduation dates when it's
>>  not clear what the century is?  Throckmorton Jones '75 would be
>>  understood to be 1975, but  how should his year be written if he were
>>  a very early grad from 1875? It looks awkward to use Throckmorton
>>  Jones (1875).
>>
>>  Debbie
>>
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>
>
>
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-- 
Tom Pixton
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