Monday morning myths?

[akatsuka]

Hi, I'm doing a University project on Monday mornings and I have to try and make people like them, or at least change their opinion of them. I'm interested in the different views different countries have about mondays in general. Its not all doom and gloom. In the Middle East, for example, Mondays are like our Wednesdays... (Their weekend days are different)

In Japan, are their any myths/beliefs/opinions/attitudes to Mondays other than the norm in the West?

I know its a pretty random question but any help would be loved!

THanks

[TFG]

Interesting topic.

I have never hear Japanese say anything about Mondays as such however, I have heard a lot of people complain about Wednesdays as it is in the middle of the work week and sort of limbo, as the week grinds towards the long awaited weekend.

[Mike Oxlong]

Interesting topic.

I have never hear Japanese say anything about Mondays as such however, I have heard a lot of people complain about Wednesdays as it is in the middle of the work week and sort of limbo, as the week grinds towards the long awaited weekend.

The Wednesday thing would be "hump day" back in North America. If a work-week was a hill, you'd reach the top of the hump Wed., and the rest of the week would be a coast downhill. I prefer to use hump-day to refer to mid-week relations to tie you over till the weekend.If you ain't humped by Wed., it's gonna feel like a year by the time the weekend fun rolls around again.

[amdg]

[TFG]

There may be another equation in this as Japanese consider Sunday to be the start of the week.

I am still always telling people "Next week" on Sundays when I should be telling them this week.

[sublight]

[amdg]

sublight Um, yeah me too, I just didn't want to admit I watched Sazae-san.

[Charles]

There may be another equation in this as Japanese consider Sunday to be the start of the week.

Oh ferchrissake. Have you looked at a Western style calendar.. EVER? They ALL start the week on Sunday. Western calendars started the week on Sunday even in antiquity, way back before the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar.

There is an ancient cyclical system to Japanese calendars, there is some cycle of lucky vs. unlucky days, it doesn't match the weekly cycle, I don't know how long it is. I've seen it printed on a few modern Japanese calendars, but I've never seen a full explanation of it. That's something I would like to find out myself.

[GomiGirl]

My main problem with mondays is when I have had too big a weekend and need to recover.. otherwise they are fine.

[srtgfhjgfghjmjhgf]

Monday myths?
I'm sure I heard before that more people die on Mondays than any other day of the week. Something to do with the extra stress of getting up early after the weekend. I try to avoid Mondays when I can.

[james]

is a horrible way to spend 1/7th of one's life

[TFG]

Oh ferchrissake. Have you looked at a Western style calendar.. EVER? They ALL start the week on Sunday. Western calendars started the week on Sunday even in antiquity, way back before the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar.

There is an ancient cyclical system to Japanese calendars, there is some cycle of lucky vs. unlucky days, it doesn't match the weekly cycle, I don't know how long it is. I've seen it printed on a few modern Japanese calendars, but I've never seen a full explanation of it. That's something I would like to find out myself.

Well that is news to me! Have YOU EVER looked at a European calendar?

Calendars in the UK & ALL of Europe start on Monday...Not fucking Sunday!
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/index.html?year=2007&country=9

And also, I was referring to Sunday being the start of the week in conversations as opposed to it being the last day of the old week.

[james]

And also, I was referring to Sunday being the start of the week in conversations as opposed to it being the last day of the old week.

not sure what's more common, but i grew up with the notion that monday was the start of the week and sunday was the end..

[TFG]

not sure what's more common, but i grew up with the notion that monday was the start of the week and sunday was the end..

Yeah, that is what I meant.

Obviously American calendars must start on Sunday like Japanese ones do.
However, Charles should have done his homework before deciding that ALL western calendars start on Sunday!:D

[Mulboyne]

Charles is right. The Bible describes Sunday as the first day of the week (e.g Acts 20:7) and calendars always used to run from Sunday to Saturday. Many still do.

However, I've always regarded Monday as the first day of the week and I rarely encounter anyone who thinks otherwise since.

I've always had a soft spot for Mondays in Japan because it's usually a good day to try out new restaurants and bars that might otherwise give you the bum's rush on a busier night when the staff might worry about you being a foreign wa-buster.

[TFG]

Bullshit, more countries calendars start on MONDAY than SUNDAY for sure.

Click the link below and change the locale to see for yourself.
In fact 29 countries out of 36 start their calendars on Monday!!!!!!

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/index.html?year=2007&country=8

[Mulboyne]

How is giving me a link to an online calendar going to disprove the point that for hundreds of years calendars were produced with the week beginning on Sunday and many still do that today? I've already said that, like most people, I regard Monday as the first day of the week and even choose to set my own organizer to start on Monday. That isn't self-contradictory and it certainly isn't bullshit.

One of the reasons a UK publisher gave for continuing to start with a Sunday, particularly in diaries, was to separate the two "S" days to avoid visual confusion. On some calendars, weekdays and holidays are printed in red and the separation is used for the same reason.

[TFG]

Who is trying to disprove anything here?

I am simply making the point that calendars start on Mondays in most countries as Charles claimed that this wasn't the case.
I am not talking about 100 years go but NOW!

And you are wrong about "Many still do" Most don't, only a few do.
That is the point!

[GomiGirl]

The default settings for digital calendars such as iCal is from Sunday to Saturday. But you can change this to any day of the week for the start day.

But this is no need to get all hot and bothered.

[emperor]

On 23 February 2006, Russell Brand hosted the 2006 NME Awards show. Upon reaching the stage to receive his award, Bob Geldof began his speech with 'Russell Brand... what a cunt.' which later prompted Brand to strike back with; [size=100]"Bob Geldof. Really no surprise that he's such an expert on famine, he has after all been dining out on "I Dont like Mondays" for 30 years...'.[/SIZE]

[akatsuka]

I loved the Sazae-san syndrome information! Thanks

As for what day the week starts on, my vain and quick research says that in America sunday is the first day of the week, in europe monday is the first day of the week, and in the middle east saturdays are the beginning day of the week. (I think I got that info from wikipedia...)

[Tsuru]

Well my Outlook is set to have monday as the first day of every week... besides: isn't it called "week-end" for a reason?

[TFG]

[quote="Tsuru"]Well my Outlook is set to have monday as the first day of every week... besides: isn't it called "week-end" for a reason? ]

Heee Hee Heeeeeeeee:D

[maninjapan]

As long as I got my cup of steaming coffee - either a double espresso or a latte with a double shot in, or a triple, then Mondays are no problems whatsoever.

[Mike Oxlong]

As long as I got my cup of steaming coffee - either a double espresso or a latte with a double shot in, or a triple, then Mondays are no problems whatsoever.

Speaking of myths, the ol' expresso will perk you up more than coffee myth seems to still be floating around.

Expresso beans are a very dark roast, and more caffeine leaches out of the beans before they get to market and end up in you.

Expresso is made by quickly passing pressurized steam through the ground beans, so that the water is in relatively shorter contact with the grinds compared with drip brewed coffee.

The result of long dark roasting is a stronger taste, with less caffeine kick. The added result of the method of preparation is even less caffeine, but that strong flavour that fools people into thinking they are getting a real dose.

All that said, however, the placebo effect is real.

[Charles]

Speaking of myths, the ol' expresso will perk you up more than coffee myth seems to still be floating around.

Expresso beans are a very dark roast, and more caffeine leaches out of the beans before they get to market and end up in you.

Expresso is made by quickly passing pressurized steam through the ground beans, so that the water is in relatively shorter contact with the grinds compared with drip brewed coffee.

The result of long dark roasting is a stronger taste, with less caffeine kick. The added result of the method of preparation is even less caffeine, but that strong flavour that fools people into thinking they are getting a real dose.

All that said, however, the placebo effect is real.

Not really. From The Coffee and Caffeine FAQ:

Is it true that espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee?

Yes and no. An espresso cup has about as much caffeine as a cup of strong coffee. But servings for espresso are much smaller. Which means that the content of caffeine per milliliter are much higher than with a regular brew. Moreover, caffeine is more quickly assimilated when taken in concentrated dosages, such as an espresso cup.
The myth of lower caffeine espresso comes comes from the fact that the darker roast beans used for espresso do have less caffeine than regularly roasted beans as roasting is supposed to break up or sublimate the caffeine in the beans (I have read this quote in research articles, but found no scientific studies supporting it. Anybody out there?).
Here's the caffeine content of Drip/Espresso/Brewed Coffee:

Code: Select all

Drip            115-175
Espresso        100         1 serving (1-2oz)
Brewed          80-135

More data on espresso and caffeine content.

I often get an "Americano" which is a single shot of espresso, with steaming water added to make an 8oz cup. I assure you it has almost exactly the same taste and caffeine as regular coffee. A double-shot Americano will really give you a jolt of caffeine, twice that of a regular cup of coffee. It's too strong for me.

[Mike Oxlong]

Which source is correct?
http://www.didyouknow.cd/coffee.htm

A cup of drip brewed coffee has about 115 milligrams of caffeine, an espresso (and percolated coffee) about 80mg, while instant coffee has about 65mg of caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee is not totally caffeine free, containing about 3mg of caffeine. A can of Coca-Cola has about 23mg of caffeine, Pepsi Cola 25mg, Mountain Dew 37mg, and TAB 31mg. Tea has about 40mg of caffeine, while an ounce of chocolate contains about 20mg.

Here?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso

Espresso contains approximately twice the caffeine content per volume as regular brewed coffee, at approximately 40 milligrams per fluid ounce, but only about 1/3 the content per serving.

I guess the "coffee college" a major coffee shop chain sends staff to is wrong too. I originally got my info from a friend who managed a Second Cup branch in Canada.

One of these sites has got to have it right. Let's look some more.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question645.htm

Drip coffee is made by dripping boiling water over ground coffee, which is ground more coarsely than espresso coffee. The water filters through the coffee and falls into a pot. This process is slower than the espresso process, and hot water is in contact with the ground coffee for much longer. Surprisingly, a cup of drip coffee has more caffeine than a shot of espresso.

[Charles]

Which source is correct?

Those numbers are all basically in the same range. They're just expressing them differently, like caffeine content per liquid ounce vs. content per 8oz cup.
This is like the old argument as which has more alcohol, a beer or a shot of whiskey. It's about the same.

[succubusqueen]

As long as I got my cup of steaming coffee - either a double espresso or a latte with a double shot in, or a triple, then Mondays are no problems whatsoever.

I need at least two or three of thos to wake up on a monday!!

[Mike Oxlong]

Those numbers are all basically in the same range. They're just expressing them differently, like caffeine content per liquid ounce vs. content per 8oz cup.

What part of

Espresso contains approximately twice the caffeine content per volume as regular brewed coffee, at approximately 40 milligrams per fluid ounce, but only about 1/3 the content per serving.

didn't you understand? You need a triple expresso to match a single cup of brewed coffee. They are comparing single servings, in each of the links & quotes provided.