Depends on how the song is interpreted. The intention is probably βby the πα΅Κ° day of Christmas, my true love had given to me [list of π+(πβ1)+...1 items]β but the actual grammar means that by day 12, you'd have received π(13βπ) of the πα΅Κ° item, or
12 drummers drumming
22 pipers piping
30 lords-a leaping
36 ladies dancing
40 maids a-milking
42 swans a-swimming
42 geese a-laying
40 gold rings
36 calling birds
30 French hens
22 turtle doves
12 partriges in pear trees
Total is 184 birds. By day 7, only 69 birds, up 50 % from 46 by day 6. At least the number of received birds stays constant (23) on days 8-12. The geese technically-a-reproducing are not accounted for, as the eggs might not be fertilized and take several weeks to hatch.
Or hired to do a show, since English isn't that specific. Being gifted someone dancing doesn't usually mean you own that person. It just means someone was paid to dance as a show for you.
Plus, you have to provide room in your house for a huge number of new lodgers. Drummers, pipers, lords, ladies, maids... and then you've got to find a place for all the birds.
Your "true love" is clearly taking advantage of you by unloading all of this onto you and calling it a gift.
From days 8 to 12 your true love gives you milkmaids, dancing ladies, leaping lords, pipers and drummers. Human beings. As gifts. Which makes eating the birds feel a lot more okay.
This carol was written back when Christmas was a mere 12 days long. Now Christmas starts in mid-October. "On the ninety-ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ninety-nine wall beers..."
People used to routinely eat just about every bird there was. The only reason nobody bothers with songbirds is that they're too small to be worth a damn. Remember the passenger pigeon? The extinct one. Yeah we literally ate that into extinction.
Fair enough. Although I don't think you'd need to bother with the songbirds in this instance seeing as you've been gifted a years worth of geese, French hens, and milk. Unless you're required to feed all the other various humans you've been gifted as well. I guess then it would be time to crack into the turtledoves.
39 Comments
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 78 pts · 2y
Depends on how the song is interpreted. The intention is probably βby the πα΅Κ° day of Christmas, my true love had given to me [list of π+(πβ1)+...1 items]β but the actual grammar means that by day 12, you'd have received π(13βπ) of the πα΅Κ° item, or
Total is 184 birds. By day 7, only 69 birds, up 50 % from 46 by day 6. At least the number of received birds stays constant (23) on days 8-12. The geese technically-a-reproducing are not accounted for, as the eggs might not be fertilized and take several weeks to hatch.
Also explored in an awesome video by Vihart: YouTube/Piped/Vimeo
BluesF@feddit.uk · 7 pts · 2y
Oh damn I did not know Vihart was still going! Tis a good day.
Artyom@lemm.ee · 6 pts · 2y
Curse you Carl Friedrich Gauss and your distribution! Is there no escape?!?
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 2 pts · 2y
Itβs a parabola actually, the function is βπΒ²+13π.
The reason Gauss is mentioned in Vihartβs video is that he famously invented the formula for triangular numbers.
downdaemon@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 2y
this is why i come to lemmy
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 1 pts · 2y
this is why i lemmy
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2y
does each maid come with a cow (or goat) they are milking? within a month (35 days) some of those goose eggs will hatch too.
TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
Fourty! Golden! Rings!
Burninator05@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
You should just be grateful your true love didn't give you any hedgehogs.
Resistentialism@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 2y
I would be so happy to receive 42 geese. It gives a really healthy head start to my goose army.
CubbyTustard@reddthat.com · 59 pts · 2y
IrrerPolterer@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 2y
Lol, eight maids a milking... Slaves. He's sending you slaves darling.
capt_wolf@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 2y
Or he's letting you in on a very specific fetish...
oo1@kbin.social · 13 pts · 2y
are cows included? or are they a-milking something else?
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 6 pts · 2y
Each other, which is why the sex matters
IWantToFuckSpez@kbin.social · 5 pts · 2y
Only Hucows
tetris11@lemmy.ml · 16 pts · 2y
Consider the gender distribution of:
Some deep fetish shit is about to go down
TheSlad@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 2y
Hey them pipers and drummers could be ladies! Its current year
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 15 pts · 2y
All 140 humans, including the 30 lords, are slaves. You don't otherwise βownβ humans like birds or rings.
Calculation by Vihart
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
Excuse me they're dinner.
PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks · 2 pts · 2y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Calculation by Vihart
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de · 1 pts · 2y
Here is a Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/147797331
letsgo@lemm.ee · 6 pts · 2y
CoderKat@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
Or hired to do a show, since English isn't that specific. Being gifted someone dancing doesn't usually mean you own that person. It just means someone was paid to dance as a show for you.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 2y
Plus, you have to provide room in your house for a huge number of new lodgers. Drummers, pipers, lords, ladies, maids... and then you've got to find a place for all the birds.
Your "true love" is clearly taking advantage of you by unloading all of this onto you and calling it a gift.
Squibbles@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 2y
Clearly the birds are for feeding to your new lodgers
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y
Very small portions. They won't last a week.
Ultraviolet@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 2y
It's 184 birds, 140 humans, 40 rings, and 12 trees. The rings are almost a normal present but when it's that many you're just Sauron.
Edit: fixed math
Etterra@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
I think whoever wrote the song was just hungry.
Aggravationstation@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 2y
I think they're for eating
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 2y
lugal@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 2y
I wonder who's behind it. c/birdsarentreal
EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de · 6 pts · 2y
Ilovemyirishtemper@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y
At least you can eat the geese. What the heck am I going to do with turtledoves and partridges?
Etterra@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 2y
People used to routinely eat just about every bird there was. The only reason nobody bothers with songbirds is that they're too small to be worth a damn. Remember the passenger pigeon? The extinct one. Yeah we literally ate that into extinction.
Ilovemyirishtemper@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y
Fair enough. Although I don't think you'd need to bother with the songbirds in this instance seeing as you've been gifted a years worth of geese, French hens, and milk. Unless you're required to feed all the other various humans you've been gifted as well. I guess then it would be time to crack into the turtledoves.
elscallr@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
I've eaten partridge before. It's not bad. Not sure I'd eat turtledove if I had other options.
Chekhovs_Gun@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
What about the French hens? Those seem like the likely nom nom candidate.
Ejh3k@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y
Pertinent
PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks · 1 pts · 2y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Pertinent
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
abcde_fz@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
This is quality shit.
tias@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 2y
If my true love flips me the bird, she might not be my true love after all.