Millennium

Countdown to 2001

(or is it 2000?)

Only one of these headings is correct. Do you know which one?

If you're confused - don't worry. You're not the only one who isn't sure when the next millennium begins.

In Britain the Millennium celebrations begin on January 1st 2000.

In Australia the celebrations start on January 1st 2001.

One country has done its sums correctly while the other country needs a new set of batteries for its calculator.

Let's find out who is right.

Firstly, we need to make sure that we know what a millennium is.

A decade is a period of 10 years.
A century is a period of 100 years.
A millennium is a period of 1000 years.

Decades

The first year in our calendar was year 1. Can you work out which year was the last year in the first decade?

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
this is the first decade

Now, a slightly-harder question: what was the first year in the second decade?

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
this is the first decade											this is the second decade

Centuries

Now let's look at centuries. Can you work out which year was the last year in the first century?

. . .

100

Which year was the first year in the second century?

Millenniums

Now for millenniums. Which year was the last year in the first millennium?

. . .

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

Which year was the first year in the second millennium?

Now you are ready to work out whether the next millennium begins in 2000 or 2001. To make it easier for you, here are some tables:

Put the correct dates in the boxes and then press the button to see if you were right.

Press the 'Find out' button to find out which country has chosen the correct date to celebrate the new millennium.