How Long Did The 40 Years War Last?

The 40 years war was fought between the years 1385-1424 and this was a military conflict fought between the Burmese-speaking Kingdom of Ava and the Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawaddy Pegu.  Forget ‘nine months’, the typical pregnancy actually lasts 40 weeks!  A full-time work week is 40 hours.  Ali Baba had to outwit 40 thieves in the classic tale, Arabian Nights.  40 is widely considered entry into middle age.  It took chemists 40 attempts to develop the magical spray known as WD-40.  It takes Venus 40 years to cross our sky and return to its starting point.  The number 40 is a pentagonal pyramidal number.  Russian folklore says that ghosts hang around for 40 days after death.  The word ‘forty’ is the only number in the English language that is in alphabetical order when spelled out.  According to an ancient proverb, “to understand a people, you must live among them…