I wonder if the author was thinking of 1899 as "the end of the last century." It can happen to people who lived much of their lives in the 20th century.
I was born not that far off the end of the last century and I didn't bat an eyelid at that, heh.
Even weirder is that we are currently in the '20s. That's always going to mean 1920s to me, but I imagine I'm going to have to get used to younger family & news etc. using it to mean 2020s in the not too distant future.
Even weirder is that we are currently in the '20s. That's always going to mean 1920s to me, but I imagine I'm going to have to get used to younger family & news etc. using it to mean 2020s in the not too distant future.