This might be it. Understandable but annoying: irb(main):001:0> require 'date' => true irb(main):004:0> require 'yaml' => true irb(main):010:0> a = "2008-08-10" => "2008-08-10" irb(main):011:0> y = YAML::load(a) => #<Date: 4909377/2,0,2299161> irb(main):012:0> a = "2008-8-10" => "2008-8-10" irb(main):013:0> y = YAML::load(a) => "2008-8-10" Annoying because Date.parse("2008-8-10") would be fine. Can anyone suggest an elegant way to upgrade YAML::load()?