DEAR ABBY: Please get this message out to the media, authors and sign painters. Numbers are not possessive or contractions; they do not require an apostrophe.
Abby, I see this error -- "20's," "50's," "80's" -- on television, in the newspapers, on billboards and on signs. Aren't these numbers properly written 20s, 50s, 80s? Or am I incorrect? -- CAROLYN FRINGS, RETIRED SECRETARY
DEAR CAROLYN: You are correct, but there is one case in which an apostrophe should be used: when indicating the contraction of a year. For example, when referring to 1996, it may be written: He starred in two plays in '96. (Note the apostrophe is in front of the numbers.) Or for a decade: She published four best-sellers in the '80s.