[QUOTE=NBtarheel_33;284884]
Another example: What is November 359th? Well, 11/359 = 12/329 = 1/298 = 2/267 = 3/238 = 4/207 = 5/177 = 6/146 = 7/116 = 8/85 = 9/54 = 10/24. That is, November 359th is the same as October 24th.[/QUOTE]

But 10/24 = 5/12. So all of them map to the distinct date of 5/12, no? In which case, weird dates won't add any new unique dates.

[QUOTE=axn;284891]But 10/24 = 5/12. So all of them map to the distinct date of 5/12, no? In which case, weird dates won't add any new unique dates.[/QUOTE]
It will. You can not make 1/33 (which is a valid weird date) from normal dates. I have the answer already and it is very simple to compute, for both cases (with or without weirds).

But, 11/359 would be in a different year...

[QUOTE=EdH;285093]But, 11/359 would be in a different year...[/QUOTE]

Think of it as a perpetual calendar. The date rolls over from 12-31 to 1-1 but we don't worry about the year changing. IOW, the dates are just abstract entities without years to distinguish them apart.

[spoiler]226[/spoiler] is my answer without weird date calculation

We have winner(s)!
 

[QUOTE=science_man_88;284419]if it counts my code got 232.[/QUOTE]

We have a winner (or several!). Given a date m/d, 1<=m<=12 and 1<=d<=#(m), where #(m) = the number of days in month m, we have (for normal dates) [B]232[/B] distinct dates (where we keep a date the first time it appears, and then throw out all equivalent dates, so for instance, keep 1/1 but throw out 2/2, 3/3, etc.)

Here is the solution for "normal dates":

[CODE]The dates of the form 1/n:

Eliminate 2/2n from 2/2 to 2/28 - 14 dates
Eliminate 3/3n from 3/3 to 3/30 - 10 dates
Eliminate 4/4n from 4/4 to 4/28 - 7 dates
Eliminate 5/5n from 5/5 to 5/30 - 6 dates
Eliminate 6/6n from 6/6 to 6/30 - 5 dates
Eliminate 7/7n from 7/7 to 7/28 - 4 dates
Eliminate 8/8n from 8/8 to 8/24 - 3 dates
Eliminate 9/9n from 9/9 to 9/27 - 3 dates
Eliminate 10/10n from 10/10 to 10/30 - 3 dates
Eliminate 11/11n from 11/11 to 11/22 - 2 dates
Eliminate 12/12n from 12/12 to 12/24 - 2 dates

So the 1/n dates eliminate a total of 59 dates.

The dates of the form 2/n:

Eliminate 4/2n from 4/2 to 4/30 - 15 dates, but 7 of these are also 4/4n - so net 8 dates
Eliminate 6/3n from 6/3 to 6/30 - 10 dates, but 5 of these are also 6/6n - so net 5 dates
Eliminate 8/4n from 8/4 to 8/28 - 7 dates, but 3 of these are also 8/8n - so net 4 dates
Eliminate 10/5n from 10/5 to 10/30 - 6 dates, but 3 of these are also 10/10n - so net 3 dates
Eliminate 12/6n from 12/6 to 12/30 - 5 dates, but 2 of these are also 12/12n - so net 3 dates

So the 2/n dates eliminate a total of 23 dates.

The dates of the form 3/n:

Eliminate 6/2n from 6/2 to 6/30 - 15 dates, but 5 of these are already counted - net 10 dates
Eliminate 9/3n from 9/3 to 9/30 - 10 dates, but 3 of these are already counted - net 7 dates
Eliminate 12/4n from 12/4 to 12/28 - 7 dates, but 2 of these are already counted - net 5 dates

So the 3/n dates eliminate a total of 22 dates.

The dates of the form 4/n:

Eliminate 8/2n from 8/2 to 8/30 - 15 dates, but 7 of these are already counted - net 8 dates
Eliminate 12/3n from 12/3 to 12/30 - 10 dates, but 5 of these are already counted - net 5 dates

So the 4/n dates eliminate a total of 13 dates.

The dates of the form 5/n:

Eliminate 10/2n from 10/2 to 10/30 - 15 dates, but 3 of these are already counted - net 12 dates

So the 5/n dates eliminate a total of 12 dates.

The dates of the form 6/n:

Eliminate 12/2n from 12/2 to 12/30 - 15 dates, but 10 of these are already counted - net 5 dates

So the 6/n dates eliminate a total of 5 dates.

There are hence 366 - (59 + 23 + 22 + 13 + 12 + 5) = 232 distinct dates.[/code]

Note that 232/366 = 0.6339, so we eliminate more than one-third of the calendar by writing dates in "lowest terms".

"Weird date" calculation coming soon...though y'all might be able to figure out that it is actually very similar, but the math is a little trickier to keep track of. If anyone has it, go ahead and post it!!

[QUOTE=Cow_tipping;285330][spoiler]226[/spoiler] is my answer without weird date calculation[/QUOTE]

You double-counted somewhere...

[QUOTE=axn;284891]But 10/24 = 5/12. So all of them map to the distinct date of 5/12, no? In which case, weird dates won't add any new unique dates.[/QUOTE]

Yes, the "weird date" 11/359 = 10/24 would be eliminated by 5/12. But you should not actually encounter 11/359 in working the puzzle. I think 1/31 = 11/341 = 10/6 = 5/3 (so it's gone) is the largest weird date for the month of November.

[QUOTE=LaurV;284894]It will. You can not make 1/33 (which is a valid weird date) from normal dates. I have the answer already and it is very simple to compute, for both cases (with or without weirds).[/QUOTE]

But, you can certainly start with 1/33. You have 1/33 = 2/2, which is eliminated by 1/1.

You are all writing your dates wrong!

It [b]should[/b] be: day/month. NOT month/day. Jeez. :mad::glare::judge::sick:

[color=gray]That ought to put the penguins among the bears.
:bear:[/color]

[QUOTE=retina;286357]You are all writing your dates wrong!

It [b]should[/b] be: day/month. NOT month/day. Jeez. :mad::glare::judge::sick:

[color=gray]That ought to put the penguins among the bears.
:bear:[/color][/QUOTE]

Omg, I did just that! Silly date naming convention of those US people.
Change to metric system stop with the comma's in spreadsheets, write the date DDMMYYY and no more yards.
It's 226 unique days in europe, US has 232. :P

* end rant :drama: