Podcast Summary: "Who Smarted?"

Episode: Why are there 12 Months in a Year?

Date: December 26, 2025
Podcast: Who Smarted? (Atomic Entertainment / Starglow Media)
Host: (Unnamed, with characters "Cal" the Calendar and Co-host)

Episode Overview

This fun, fact-filled episode explores why we have 12 months in a year, why months and weeks are structured the way they are, and the historical quirks and mistakes of our modern calendar. With humor, interactive trivia, and clever characters (like Cal, the personified calendar), the show guides young listeners through the confusing and often illogical evolution of time-keeping—from ancient civilizations through the Romans, all the way to Pope Gregory XIII's calendar reform. Along the way, listeners discover surprising facts, odd calendar errors, and the fascinating blend of science and history behind everyday dates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Do We Have Months and Years?

• [00:01] Host introduces the idea that living without months or years is hard to imagine today, but ancient humans managed before calendars.
• Days were easy to define (sunrise to sunset), but grouping days into weeks and months took ingenuity.

2. Calendars Are Kinda Messy!

• [01:43] Host observes how the current calendar seems messy:
  • Weeks are always 7 days, but months have varying numbers of days (28–31).
  • February, especially, is odd—with 28 days, plus one extra day every four years.
• There have been modern proposals to "fix" the calendar, but inertia (and calendars like Cal!) keep things as they are.

3. Meet "Cal" the Calendar (and his Big Ego)

• [02:58] Character "Cal" appears as a comical calendar with a wizard complex, claiming to be “the great and powerful calendar,” brimming with both lore and flaws.
  • Memorable quote [03:12], Calendar:

    "I am the great and powerful calendar. I contain the names of gods, goddesses, and emperors."

• [04:03] Cal is unmasked as a little desk calendar from 2012, highlighting how “outdated” even our calendar knowledge can be.

4. How Did Weeks Get Seven Days?

• [05:14] Cal explains that ancient societies had all sorts of weeks:

  • Egyptians: 10-day weeks
  • Central Asia/Middle East: five-day weeks
  • West Africa: four-day weeks

• The seven-day week comes from the Babylonians (adopted by Romans), somewhat based on the moon’s phases.

  • Interactive segment [05:42]:
    Kids invited to guess why seven days? (Answer: Moon phases.)

• Cal clarifies [06:03]:

  "Ah, it may be right, but it’s not correct... The lunar cycle is actually 29 and a half days. So the week is off by a little bit."

5. Where Do “Months” Come From?

• The word "month" is derived from "moon."
  • Cal [06:56]:

  "Yes, the word month actually comes from a word meaning moon. Moo."

• The Romans gave most of our months their names:
  • March, May, June: named for mythological figures.
  • April: related to spring.
  • September–December: literally mean 7th-10th months (showing calendar drift!).

6. The Roman Calendar’s Mistakes

• The original Roman calendar had just 10 months and ignored winter.
  • January and February were added later (from Janos and Februs); initially at the end of the year.
• Why is February so short?
  • Romans thought even numbers were unlucky, so months were mostly 29 or 31 days. The unlucky even days were all dumped in February, which ended up at 28 days.
    • Cal [08:15]:

    "Instead of creating a whole year of bad luck, the Romans decided to put all the bad vibes on only one month. February."

7. Julius Caesar and the Leap Year

• Julius Caesar adopted a 365-day calendar, based on Egyptian models; leap years added to correct drift.
  • February got an extra day every four years.
  • Months Quintilis and Sextilis became “July” and “August,” renamed for Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar.
    • Host [10:34]:

      "Ooh, smartypants. Do the names Julius and Augustus sound familiar? What months do you think are named after them? Did you say July and August?"

8. Naming the Days of the Week

• [11:01] Romans named...
  • Sunday after the Sun, Monday after the Moon.
  • Other days after Roman gods/planets, e.g., Mars = Tuesday.
• [12:19] English names sometimes swapped in Norse/Germanic gods (e.g., Thor’s Day = Thursday).
  • Host [12:19]:

    "Thursday, also known as Thor's day, After the hammer-wielding Norse God of thunder who inspired Marvel superhero."

9. A Year That’s Just a Guess

• Our calendar’s “year zero” is based on a guess at the birth of Jesus—now known to be a bit off.
  • Cal [12:38]:

    "Well, it's not really counting from anything... every year is just a random number."

10. From the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar

• The Julian calendar made too many leap years, causing drift (spring started at the wrong time).
• Pope Gregory XIII fixed this with the Gregorian calendar (1582), cutting leap years and eliminating 10 days to realign spring.
  • [13:52–14:59] Countries didn’t all adopt it at once, resulting in “time travel confusion.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Calendar’s funny reveal:

  "Hey, you're not an all-powerful wizard. You're just a little desk calendar from 2012." [04:03]

• On February’s “bad luck”:

  "Instead of creating a whole year of bad luck, the Romans decided to put all the bad vibes on only one month. February." – Cal [08:15]

• Leap year history and chaos:

  "In October of 1582, people went to bed on October 4th and woke up the next morning on October 15th." [13:51]

• On the calendar’s resilience:

  "If you ever make a mistake, don’t feel bad—think of the calendar. It's made lots of mistakes and it's still going strong." – Host [14:59]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01–01:25 – Birthdays, time-keeping before calendars, and the show’s main questions.
• 01:43–02:58 – Why our calendar seems inconsistent.
• 02:58–04:20 – Introduction of Cal, the calendar with an attitude.
• 05:14–06:03 – Origins of the seven-day week.
• 06:56–07:40 – Roman naming of months; meaning behind “month.”
• 08:15–09:04 – February’s oddness and early calendar superstitions.
• 09:04–10:55 – Julius Caesar, leap years, and month names.
• 11:01–12:19 – Weekday names, Roman and Norse influences.
• 12:38–13:25 – The fuzzy logic behind year zero and calendar years.
• 13:52–14:59 – The Gregorian reform and global calendar confusion.
• 14:59–15:18 – Final “mistakes” lesson and calendar resilience.

Episode Takeaway

The calendar we use is a patchwork of astronomy, mythology, superstition, historical guesswork, and several “fixes” that, despite its messiness, keeps the modern world running. Even though it has a lot of quirks and hilarious errors, it’s a reminder that inventions—even the really important ones—are often imperfect, but can still stand the test of time.

Fun Fact For After-Listening:

"If you ever make a mistake, don’t feel bad—think of the calendar. It's made lots of mistakes and it's still going strong." – Host [14:59]

This episode is a perfect example of Who Smarted?’s engaging blend of education and humor, making even topics as dry as the calendar come alive with fun, memorable facts and interactive storytelling.