The almanac
What the world has in stock today, worked out from the date. Nobody’s play changes it.
Proposed: the six stocks were approved as a design; how fast each one moves is this page’s first reading, not canon until approved. Like the rest of the world, all of it was made by a machine. The almanac, in the codex
The day
Saturday 31 October 2026, the almanac’s day 3. The world’s day began at midnight UTC.
The lamp is lit tonight. Lit on 3 of the 3 days since the almanac began.
| Stock | Today | Since yesterday | Kept in |
|---|---|---|---|
| The sea’s oil | 999 measures | no change | The sardine-tin sea |
| Lamp oil | 4 measures | down 1 | The lamp |
| Tea | 11 cups | no change | The attic |
| Slop | 80 ladles | up 1 | The Vats |
| Buttons | 40 buttons | no change | The workshop |
| Found containers | 6 jars and tins | no change | The workshop |
What happened
- Show night in the walnut theatre: curtain up at 19:30 by your clock.
- 3 cups of tea grown on the attic sill; 3 cups drunk at the bench.
- 2 buttons came up from the drawers under the floor.
- 2 buttons spent at the Drawer.
- The Mother Batch made 3 ladles of slop; vat duty skimmed two.
Said today
“The lamp that’s always on is on, and it’s staying on.”
“The Slopwright has made tea. It’s slightly too hot, which is correct.”
The day the codex was last built, Saturday 31 October 2026. With JavaScript on, this shows your own day.
The days before
| Day | The lamp | The sea’s oil | Lamp oil | Tea | Slop | Buttons | Found containers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 30 October 2026 | lit | 999 measures | 5 measures | 11 cups | 79 ladles | 40 buttons | 6 jars and tins |
| Thursday 29 October 2026 | lit | 999 measures | 6 measures | 11 cups | 200 ladles | 40 buttons | 6 jars and tins |
How it is worked out
The world’s day is the same for everyone: it turns over at midnight UTC, whatever the time where you are (the network’s rule for time: yours is local, shared is UTC). An occasion’s hour, like curtain up, is told by your own clock. Each day draws its numbers from the date alone, as the games’ daily puzzles do, so the same day gives the same almanac in every browser. It starts on Thursday 29 October 2026, the day it was first worked out, and claims nothing before then. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent.
- The sea’s oil. The tin tops itself back up overnight, three measures at most, to its brim of 1,000. It gives one measure a day to the lighthouse and five to the lamp when the lamp is down to two, and never gives an errand that would take it under 900: the tin stays a sea.
- Lamp oil. The lamp burns one measure a day. A draughty day comes one day in five (three days in ten in Slopoween), and on one day in 25 of those the Draught blows the lamp out and one measure spills. It is back on the next morning.
- Tea. The attic sill grows three cups a day (four on one day in three), two on a draughty day. The Slopwright drinks three, and one more after the lamp is relit. The caddy holds 20; what is over goes to the kiosk. When it runs short, the Drawer sells a cup for two buttons.
- Slop. The Mother Batch makes about 5% of what is in the vats a day, less as they fill, never past 300. Vat duty skims about a ladle for every 50. Each new piece of Fresh slop takes a ladle on the day it went up on the wall (the record’s day); the vats keep 60 back, and any more are dug from the cellar under the floor.
- Buttons. On one day in six, one to four come up from the drawers under the floor. On one day in four, one or two are spent at the Drawer (one day in two once the jar holds more than 60). The coat buttons at the kiosk are lucky buttons and never reach the jar.
- Found containers. On one day in ten an empty jar turns up; the shelf holds 24. On one day in 60 the Slopwright puts a world in one, and on one day in twelve one goes to the stall on the long road.
- The show. The walnut theatre has a show on six nights in seven.
Who draws, grows, carries and counts each of them, and the ways they move, are on Resources.
Where the words come from
The almanac writes no lines. It picks from these seven, each a game’s own words, by what happened that day.
- “The lamp that’s always on is on, and it’s staying on.” Narration, Always On
- “The lamp’s gone out. The one that’s always on.” The Slopwright, Always On
- “The lamp kept coming back on. That annoyed it.” Narration, Always On
- “Take soup. It’s cold up there, and the draught is mostly cold.” The Slopwright, Always On
- “Enjoy the show. There’s only the one, and it’s been on for a while.” Dot, Always On
- “The Slopwright has made tea. It’s slightly too hot, which is correct.” Narration, Always On
- “The ends of the Slopwright’s candles. He never finishes one.” Narration, Make Do
Not the visitor’s
Buttons are the world’s money. Sardines, thimbles and marbles are yours, for playing, and the two never meet: nothing you earn, spend or play fills or empties a stock, and no stock ever holds back a game or a price. The economy