I'm writing a paper on the metric system vs Imperial system thing and I remember someone mentioning the source of the Imperial systems standards...kings shoe size...freezing/boiling point of blood etc...but I can't seem to find any reference to this. If you brought it up the last time, anyone know of any sources that I can use to I doesn't look like I'm pulling it out of my ass? Thanks.
[OT] Metric system.
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jester47
First Post
MaxKaladin
First Post
The origins of the Fahrenheit system:
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52561.html
Short version: No, it wasn't based on boiling blood. The bottom point was based on the lowest temperature he could reach by the means of the day and the highest point was the boiling point of water. The numbers are not "even" decimal numbers because he was using divisions that were easier to work with using fractions.
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52561.html
Short version: No, it wasn't based on boiling blood. The bottom point was based on the lowest temperature he could reach by the means of the day and the highest point was the boiling point of water. The numbers are not "even" decimal numbers because he was using divisions that were easier to work with using fractions.
MeepoTheMighty
First Post
Bah. Metric system.
My car gets 40 hectares to the hogshead, and that's the way I like it!
My car gets 40 hectares to the hogshead, and that's the way I like it!
The story I heard -- that I haven't seen substantiated anywhere -- is that the Fahrenheit scale set 0 at the lowest outside temperate and 100 at the highest that occured throughout the year. Sounds reasonable, no? Too bad I can find no basis for it...
Many of the linear measurements have clear origins. A foot is the length of a typical foot. A yard is the length of a typical stride, or half a fathom, which is the distance from one outstretched hand to the other. An inch is the length of the end of your thumb (from the last knuckle to the end). We don't use cubits, but they used to be the length of your arm from elbow to fingertip. And so on.
Many of the linear measurements have clear origins. A foot is the length of a typical foot. A yard is the length of a typical stride, or half a fathom, which is the distance from one outstretched hand to the other. An inch is the length of the end of your thumb (from the last knuckle to the end). We don't use cubits, but they used to be the length of your arm from elbow to fingertip. And so on.
Chun-tzu
First Post
MeepoTheMighty said:
Don't you mean, "The metric system is the tool of the Devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it!" Grampa Abe?
A rod is an arcane form of measurement, equal to 512 yards or 1612 feet; a perch or pole. A rod is also farming measurement used in spacing the furrows in ploughed fields, of 16.5 feet. A Hog is a large, often old, car or motor-cycle in old U.S. Slang, and a hogshead is an old unit of measurement for liquids equal to 63 old wine-gallons, which is 5212 imperial gallons.
(BTW, a hectare is a unit of area, not distance.)
Oops, wrong thread. Feel free to ignore the useless trivia.
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jester47
First Post
Origin of Fahrenheit Scale:
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52561.html
The other web page I posted gives the origins of the other items speculated at.
Aaron.
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52561.html
The other web page I posted gives the origins of the other items speculated at.
Aaron.
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Tsyr
Explorer
Uhhh, I think a hogshead is more like 52.12 gallons, not 5212.
http://www.sizes.com/units/hogshead.htm
http://www.sizes.com/units/hogshead.htm
Tewligan
First Post
Once a year, I pay a homeless guy $10 to wear a T-shirt with the words "metric system" written on the front. I then chase him up and down the street, beating him furiously with a wiffle bat labelled "The Hard Yard". I top off my celebration of the imperial system's superiority by sitting down to a dinner of a foot-long hot dog and a gallon of milk.Zappo said:...and still there are people who dislike the metric system?
trancejeremy
Adventurer
Zappo said:...and still there are people who dislike the metric system?
Yes. With a passion.
Given that where I live, the temperature outside ranges from about 0 F to 100 F, it's much better to use that than - 17.7 to 37.7 C. Any temperature scale in which you have to use a decimal point is seriously flawed for everyday use. Even if you don't, it's such a screwed up range. -20 or so to 40 or so?
Celsius is even sucky for science - have to convert it to Kelvin anyway to do anything. It's an abomination.
Metric distance isn't bad, though I like the foot because it is about a foot long (for me, exactly).
And no one ever uses the proper metric unit for weight - the Newton. Everyone uses kilograms, which is for mass.
And what about that metric time? 10 hours a day? Sheesh.
Lord Zardoz
Explorer
Imperial measurement is doomed..
Eventually, metric will become the standard in all things. This is because people tend to buy their drugs by the Kilo, not the Pound.
And if you do not believe that such will come to pass due to illegal drug use, then consider this. Coca-Cola and Pepsi use metric measurements for their products. And everyone knows that if the Drug lords do not come to dominate the world, then surely it will be the Cola Companies.
END COMMUNICATION
Eventually, metric will become the standard in all things. This is because people tend to buy their drugs by the Kilo, not the Pound.
And if you do not believe that such will come to pass due to illegal drug use, then consider this. Coca-Cola and Pepsi use metric measurements for their products. And everyone knows that if the Drug lords do not come to dominate the world, then surely it will be the Cola Companies.
END COMMUNICATION
MeepoTheMighty
First Post
The problem that we have in this country with not understanding the metric system is that basically, nobody has any fundamental grasp of metric measurements. Everyone knows about how long an inch is, but they have to think about how long a centimeter is. I don't really understand how every other country managed to just switch all of a sudden without everyone being confused.
MeepoTheMighty
First Post
Re: Imperial measurement is doomed..
Then why am I drinking a 12 ounce coke right now?
Lord Zardoz said:
Then why am I drinking a 12 ounce coke right now?
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