Next time you hear a friend complain that "today was the most boring day in history," you can tell them to prove it.
A Cambridge scientist has developed a computer program to calculate the most lackluster day since 1900. Of all the uneventful news days in the 20th century, April 11th of 1954 was by far the most uneventful.
According to the Telegraph, on that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic named Abdullah Atalar was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened.
Mr Tunstall-Pedoe's computer programme, called True Knowledge, came to its lofty decision after being fed some 300 million facts about "people, places, business and events" that made the news.
Using complex algorithms, such as how much one piece of information was linked to others, True Knowledge determined that particular 1950s Sunday to be outstanding in its obscurity.
Cambridge University-educated Mr Tunstall-Pedoe said: "Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim - Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.
"The irony is, though, that - having done the calculation - the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring. Unless, that is, you are Abdullah Atalar."
Mr Tunstall-Pedoe emphasised that True Knowlegde was not designed solely to search for boring days.
"It's just a sideline," he said.
A Cambridge scientist has developed a computer program to calculate the most lackluster day since 1900. Of all the uneventful news days in the 20th century, April 11th of 1954 was by far the most uneventful.
According to the Telegraph, on that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic named Abdullah Atalar was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened.
Mr Tunstall-Pedoe's computer programme, called True Knowledge, came to its lofty decision after being fed some 300 million facts about "people, places, business and events" that made the news.
Using complex algorithms, such as how much one piece of information was linked to others, True Knowledge determined that particular 1950s Sunday to be outstanding in its obscurity.
Cambridge University-educated Mr Tunstall-Pedoe said: "Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim - Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.
"The irony is, though, that - having done the calculation - the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring. Unless, that is, you are Abdullah Atalar."
Mr Tunstall-Pedoe emphasised that True Knowlegde was not designed solely to search for boring days.
"It's just a sideline," he said.
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