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from the does-anybody-really-know-what-time-it-is?-♪♩♪ dept.
Why are we all forgetting what day it is?:
Google searches for "what day is it?" have been steadily rising throughout lockdown as people desperately try to recover a semblance of normality.
Likewise, the phrase has been trending on social media, with more than 307,600 posts under the hashtag #WhatDayIsIt on Instagram demonstrating how many people are struggling with the phenomenon.
Struggling with time is only normal given the pandemic has ruptured our sense of routine, says Mary E. McNaughton-Cassill, clinical psychology professor at the University of Texas.
"During normal times our days, weeks and months follow predictable patterns," she tells The Independent. "How we dress, what we eat, when we go to bed and when we wake up are all dictated by our work, school and leisure routines."
[...] But in lockdown, of course, many of these cues have been eliminated. Our homes are no longer places to unwind. They are our schools, nurseries, offices, cafes, co-working spaces, bars and cinemas.
[...] To those experiencing difficulties remembering the time or what day it is, Dr Bijlani suggests enforcing structure and rhythm into your daily routine. "Try to wake up at the same time each day, eat healthy meals at regular intervals and ensure adequate hydration throughout the day," she says, adding that it's best too avoid excessive alcohol as this will disrupt your sleeping patterns even further.
Other tips include getting exercise where possible, not remaining sitting for prolonged periods of time and setting some boundaries on your working hours, avoiding working overtime. "Try and create a different structure for the weekend from the weekdays, too," she adds, "so you are able to differentiate between them".
Given that we don't know how long this period of lockdown will last, McNaughton-Cassill explains that it is also important to try and come to terms with this new reality.
"Setting specific goals, and scheduling time to achieve them in addition to our other obligations, can help us to structure the days, and feel more productive," she adds. This will also provide a sense of achievement, something many of us have been lacking in lockdown.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:11AM (20 children)
It does not matter what today is, it's already tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:17AM (13 children)
I've been through massive bouts of multi-day benders on and off for many years, but it finally happened to me for the first time a few weeks ago: I moused over the clock and expecting it to say Thursday, it said Friday. That was midday so the day-night rollover was no excuse.
That's when I knew it was time to drop the booze and bug out in sobriety to plan my propaganda vengeance against the Chinks, Jews, and Mexicans, brought into the meatspace because the time was right. Fortunately, it turns out that everybody else in the meatspace is also getting sick of their shit and they see (((who))) is really behind the lockdowns. We shall use this opportunity for a propaganda strike to return sanity and normalcy to California. Amen. God Bless.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:29AM
Your optimism is boundless. It's more likely that Californian outflow turns Texas into a Democratic state while California remains unchanged until the end of the United States. Even legalized HIV/AIDS can't stop it. Trump will be successfully blamed for the virus and Democrats will elect a cisgendered white male pussy grabber. He will pull a William Henry Harrison and then a woman will be in charge as Gaia intended.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:30AM (10 children)
Happy Cinco de Mayo :-)
If a fight between the Mexicans and the French, who do you pick?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:38AM
The first step, is to realize you are Ethanol_fueled.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:41AM
Mexicans are already retreating, but a few bad apples who benefit from the cheap labor choose to harbor those who should not be here. Those will be dealt with nonviolently but appropriately as enablers of human trafficking. Those who have built reputations as upstanding citizens while using undocumented labor don't have much tolerance for being publicly shamed as such, especially during a time of a pandemic with hotspots at the border and in Mexico.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:03AM (6 children)
Don't look at the Battle of Puebla, look at Camarón to see what the French were capable of...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:18PM (5 children)
To be fair, Cameron wasn't exactly a French battle. It was a French Foreign Legion battle. The scurvy leavings of half the nations in the world, if you want to be honest. Most of them only became Frenchmen after their enlistments were finished.
The Legion serves France, but the Legion isn't exactly French.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday May 06 2020, @12:58AM (4 children)
Ah, good point. So we can keep making fun of the french French military :-).
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:28AM (3 children)
Oh, most definitely!!
I still have a number of "only dropped once" assault rifles available!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:37AM (2 children)
The depressing thing about the French is that while people with an English background are culturally mandated to dislike them, after spending some time in France (not Paris admittedly) I found everyone was really nice, friendly, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It was quite distressing, I mean if you're no longer able to dislike the French then what's left to enjoy in life?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:43AM (1 child)
Ehhh, I don't dislike the French. They're kind of like third cousins or something - not real close, but close enough to enjoy kicking around a little. They've committed enough military blunders in recent history, they're just open to a lot of ribbing in military matters. ;^)
Had they bothered to study Sherman and Grant in the US Civil War, they might have avoided the embarrassment caused by Rommel's blitzkreig warfare. But, we, the English speaking people of the world, have our own hidebound bureaucrats in military offices.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2020, @03:44AM
Our relationship with France is just as incestuous as any other inside the Royal Family. Both Ben Franklin and Pocahontas (the original) were working the dinner parties...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:55PM
The Vietnamese, the Algerians and the Germans.
(Score: 4, Informative) by coolgopher on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:49AM
Well played. Your recent non-troll posts suckered me into reading into the second paragraph.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:23AM (1 child)
Yes may the 5th here.
But also, fuck star wars.
(Score: 4, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:25PM
May the fifth be in you.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Informative) by deimtee on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:49AM (1 child)
No, it's today here. It's yesterday where you are.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Wednesday May 06 2020, @12:23AM
Naw man, it's obviously the 37th of Junuary......
...or possibly Naguary, since the wife keeps complaining about drinking before nine a.m......or seven a.m.....or something like that.....
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:39AM (1 child)
Or is it already yesterday here?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:40AM
No. Tomorrow is yesterday.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:24AM (23 children)
I have a thing called a calendar. It is a tool that allows me to reckon time based on the Earth's rotation. It's pretty high-tech stuff.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:30AM (12 children)
I'll see your calendar (I use one too) and raise you a morning newspaper.
Every morning there is the day/date staring at me from the top of every page.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:22AM (4 children)
Newspaper? How 1900s. As my country starts to journey back to 'normal' it is nice to rediscover the days of the week and the regularity of events like trash day. They indeed were blending a bit back there. Overwork can do this to you too. Years ago I was in a high pressure job and headed home a bit "early" one day - announcing at 3pm "Have a good weekend, see y'all on Monday." ... it was Wednesday.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:22PM (3 children)
You mean how 1700s of you? Newspapers are super old technology for delivering news. It's not terribly surprising that they're going out of business left and right. Adapting to new technology can be pretty difficult.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:44PM (2 children)
Perhaps there would be a market for real news? As opposed to moral outrage fests against political opponents.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:57PM (1 child)
Well, find a real news source and put your money where your mouth is. For starters there is WSWS [wsws.org] and Consortium News [consortiumnews.com]. What else do we have?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @08:37PM
My local newspaper does a good job, so I subscribe. It's not cheap, but someone has to pay the reporters.
All the "new" media around here just quote things from the newspaper--TV & radio don't seem to have anyone that could qualify as a reporter and I haven't found anything online other than badly written rumors and lies.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:58AM (1 child)
but.,, who knows who touched it or coughed on it before [theguardian.com] you picked it up!
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:51AM
That's ok, when Jeeves irons it to dry the ink, it will kill the virus anyway.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:27AM (4 children)
I see your newspaper and raise you a watch with date display. No need to go to another room, it's already on my wrist, no matter where I am. As a bonus, I also get the current time.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:41AM (1 child)
How do you know it is still set to the right time/date ?
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:51AM
Because it is radio controlled.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:49AM (1 child)
I just type date into an xterm, and it tells me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2020, @09:41PM
If you are using xterm, don't you have a clock in your WM? :)
date is awesome. I just saw a toot on mastodon from the 2600 radioshow Off The Hook that they will be live at 19:00 EST. Oh, no what time is that?
$ date -d '19:00 EST'
Thu 7 May 02:00:00 CEST 2020
Oh why, thank you date! Guess I'll stay up late.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:32AM (1 child)
The problem is that people are adjusting to their indefinite weekend.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:55AM
The poor bastards. They've temporarily forgotten how painful life is meant to be in the non-commissioned ranks.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:41AM
No wonder that Boston Dynamics and Skynet let the poor Ethanol go, seeing how calendars were beyound his technological grasp.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:00AM (2 children)
but if you're not sure if it is you, the room, or the earth, that is spinning, and everything isn't necessarily spinning in the same direction, things get tricky...
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:32AM (1 child)
Do not worry. The old man from Samos will know what to do.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @11:41PM
No shithole [infomigrants.net] for old men
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:07AM (1 child)
>I have a thing called a calendar. It is a tool that allows me to reckon time based on the Earth's rotation. It's pretty high-tech stuff.
I can't read a calendar but I can fuck your bitch. Home truths for nerds - the news that matters right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E66BdOjtNk [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @01:00PM
Why would you want to f--- his dog? You might get bit! Try a chicken or a sheep first; then you can move up to a bitch.
Oh and keep posting dumb shit so we can keep laughing at you.
(Score: 5, Funny) by istartedi on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:26AM (1 child)
I frequently mix up the calendar with the colander. I'm always wondering if this was really the right day for spaghetti.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:39PM
I'll put the onus on you to remember better next time.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @08:11AM
any device that can be used to search 'what day is it' will also provide the information. i'm having difficulty believing this is a real thing. both my phone and PC tell me what day it is before I've even unlocked the screen
(Score: 5, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @10:35AM
It is because "I've Got You Babe" keeps playing on the radio at the same time every morning.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:25PM
Those neurons were already compromised since I started wearing a watch that took that over.
Now without having a difference between weekday and weekend, even more so.
See also the neurons which used to navigate before GPS boxes on the dash.
Technology gives us all these spare cpu cycles for, umm talking about the situation?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:35PM (3 children)
I usually remember what day it is, I just don't always remember the date. That said neither of them are all that interesting unless I have to do specific things on said day or date in which case I do tend to remember them. But if it doesn't matter then it just doesn't matter and I don't really care all that much. One day (or date) is just as good as the next one really.
(Score: 2) by DaTrueDave on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:58PM (1 child)
Same here.
I don't know if it's good or bad, but I suspect that retirement (just a few years off for me) will make this much more evident to me. I like to think that retirement will be so laid back that I'll just roll with it. What day is it? Don't know, don't care.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:42PM
Unfortunately it gets replaced with an obsession about the weather. Basically you can't win.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:09PM
That's the thing, knowing the specific date is of relatively little importance if you're not coordinating things with other people. Laundry just needs to be done sometime before you run out of clothes, similarly with grocery shopping, you just need to do that before you run out of food. You might consider stock piling a bit now due to possible meat shortages, but other than that, you're probably fine.
Same goes for most other things that people are likely to do, you can call your friends pretty much any day and unless you're working, the specific day doesn't much matter.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:25PM (2 children)
For giggles, I went to Google. Typed in the search box, "what day is it". It gives me the date, on one line, and right below it, I read "Date in Outback, Nowhere". So, uhhh, allowing for the international date line and time zones, how many dates are there? If I were in Milwaukee, would it be a different date? Or, Kalamazoo? Is this what the whole stay at home thing has been about? The Potabians have broken the earth apart, and set different parts of the earth to different dates?
All hail the Powers That Be! They work in wondrous ways that us mere mortals can't understand!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday May 06 2020, @01:53AM (1 child)
Is there a time when it's three different days in three different places on earth?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 06 2020, @02:09AM
Kinda - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line [wikipedia.org]
Ships and aircraft are often lost due to the stress of passing through this illogic barrier.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:36PM (1 child)
The vast majority of users have no idea their computer / device has a built-in function that's very useful for that. Either that or a whole boat load more people use the google speak thing that I figured. Then again, why can't it be both?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday May 06 2020, @10:25AM
Yeah this is the bad side of the internet, where masses of low effort people end up relying on centralized services because they are semantically programmed with brand names.
Also, this is google advertising for itself in a very sideways tricky manner.
I am boycotting google, they are evil, anyone who uses any of their products as far as I am concerned hasnt read any news articles for like 10 years.
This company is cancer and skynet rolled into one and for a percentage of the population not to even know what day it is without them is something that maybe should be seen as something that should be remedied.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:42PM
Instead of asking Google Assistant "what day is it?", I more commonly ask "what time is it?"
I just got a Wear OS watch. (yes really, because, bored)
I can leave the watch face dark instead of always showing a sad face. Press a button, say "what time is it?" and get the answer spoken by the watch. (it has a speaker)
But I can also ask the watch "what day is it?"
Or "what is Avogadro's number?"
or "turn on the living room lights"
Now to get the development tools. I know there is a Linux hiding inside there. And I can use Java or Kotlin. In 2010 I used ADB to get a command shell into my Samsung Captivate android phone. It had 'top' pre-installed . . . in the phone. But no htop.
Would a Dyson sphere [soylentnews.org] actually work?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:53PM (1 child)
It's no pants Tuesday, who can't keep track of that???
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday May 06 2020, @07:05PM
With meetings being virtual via Zoom, now every day can be No Pants Day!
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @11:38PM
If it is (for instance) Wednesday morning, the pill compartments for S, M, and Tu will already be empty. Problem solved!
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday May 06 2020, @10:31AM
Is that the gregorian calendar is arbitrary and unintelligent anyway, it needs to change, it's broken, old, raggedy.
Search for 13 month calendar on any site other than google. Then we reindex all days back to 1963 at second 1 of unix time and we would all be time travellers to a new year, a truly new age.
While we are going through this chaos anyway, what a great time to switch!
(i know this is somewhat fanciful but someone has to move the overton window around here)