When you first exclaim "2010" out loud, as you ring in the New Year later tonight, say "twenty-ten" not "two-thousand-and-ten."
Why?
Because the former is two words shorter than the latter, as the web site Twentynot2000.com points out. In our shortening, 140-character tweeting vernacular, brevity matters.
According to the site:
Say the year "1810" out loud. Now say the year "1999" out loud. See a pattern? It's been easier, faster, and shorter to say years this way for every decade (except for the one that just ended) instead of saying the number the long way. However, many people are carrying the way they said years from last decade over to this decade as a bad habit. If we don't fix this now, we'll be stuck saying years the long way for the next 89 years. Don't let that happen!
The "twenty-ten" movement -- and it is just that -- is spreading online. The Facebook group "It's Twenty-ten, not Two-thousand and ten" lists 593 members. Valerie Wilkinson, a new member, wrote on the group's wall: "Think ahead ten years. It has to be 'twenty-twenty'! I'm already picturing graduating students wearing glasses with their caps and gowns." There's also a Facebook fan page and "Saying 'Twenty-Ten' Instead of 'Two-Thousand-Ten' Because It Sounds Cooler" has even more members -- nearing 20,000.