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Why do Americans want to know the month first and the day second? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by NONE_dc@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I'm sorry but it doesn't make sense TO ME. Based on what I was taught, regardless of the month, I think what matters first is to know what day of the month you are in, if at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of said month. After you know that, you can find out the month to know where you are in the year.

What is the benefit of doing it the other way around?

EDIT: To avoid misunderstandings:

I am NOT making fun OF ANYONE.
I am NOT negatively judging ANYTHING.
I am totally open to being corrected and LEARN.
This post is out of pure and honest CURIOSITY.

So PLEASE, don't take it the wrong way.

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[–] Jentu@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Year is the most significant (read: big) unit in the list, but it is the least significant (pertinent to daily life) unless you're a time traveler. Of month and day, month is more significant than day in both size and pertinence, so it gets ordered first. But when sorting things into folders or file naming conventions, biggest category descending down to smaller categories is always the best.

[–] beastlykings@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

You articulated what I was thinking, better than I could have. This is it for me.

I'd add that there's probably a lot of habit involved, plus the fact that everyone else does it.

So not only am I not used to saying "today is the 4th of May", everyone around me isn't used to hearing it either and might think I'm being weird.