Trivial Inaccuracies
Chris once said I was the only person he knew who tried to land on the brown squares on a Trivial Pursuit board. That’s true, without the brown I would be far less competitive. So, inaccuracies get my goat.
This question turned up the other night: “Which English and Spanish writers died on the same day, 23 April 1616?”
The answer on the card is Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. Incorrect! The UK date is based on the Julian calendar and Shakespeare’s coil did indeed shuffle off on the 23rd. The Gregorian calendar (in use in mainland Europe and ten days ahead) would interpret the date as 3 May 1616. Cervantes died on the Gregorian interpretation of 23 April, ten days sooner.
The question should read ‘which date?’ instead of ‘which day?’