Ubuntu Numbering Scheme

I was talking to my mother about the latest Ubuntu release (yes, we managed to get her to run Linux). I was explaining the concept of LTS versions to her and she mentioned something to the effect that if Ubuntu was already on version 7.04, then it must have been around for a long time. I was pretty sure that Ubuntu hadn't been around for more than a few years, so I decided to look it up. I came across the answer on the Ubuntu FAQ. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll be enlightened.

The version number comes from the year and month of the release, it really is that simple.

They've had a total of six releases--Warty Warthog, Hoary Hedgehog, Breezy Badger,
Dapper Drake, Edgy Eft, and now Feisty Fawn--but the number of their first release was 4.10. So they've only been around for about 3 years and get out a release twice a year, once in April, once in October, though Dapper was delayed until June.

Looking at the numbering system I'm struck by its elegance. What better way to number something than by the date it's released? Release dates have more information in them than version numbers. That version 2.0 of something could be 10 years old, but you know that 01.05 release is only six years old. The only thing it looses is the knowledge of what is a major version or minor version, but that might be better addressed by a major version number tacked on to the name as well. Then you could have version 1.01.05 which was released on 05/2001, and then bump it up to 2.02.01 when you release version 2 on 01/2002. And minor versions are easy to track inbetween. Best of both worlds? Perhaps just too much trouble.