40 Hours to Freedom: The Invention of the Weekend
Conflicted: A History Podcast
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The New French Republican Calendar
In 1793, the National Convention of the French Republic decided to throw out the old seven-day calendar and create a brand new one entirely from scratch. The days of the week would no longer be called Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but numbered in Latin, 1 through 10. Because the new week was longer than the old week, the names of the new days did not correspond to the name of the old days. Instead of 60 minutes in an hour, there would be 100. And instead of 60 seconds in a minute, there wouldbe 100.
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