why does excel 2007 format date and “serial value” when applying the normal style

Question

Why does Excel 2007/2010 remove the format of a date when applying the Normal style when it didn't in previous version?

For example, if I have 1/1/2012 and apply the Normal style, I end up with 40900, which is not expected. Excel 2003 and before, would leave the date formatted correctly.

Answer 1

The default Normal style includes the General number format. You can right-click on the Normal style on the ribbon and then select Modify... and remove the Number formatting from the style.