Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))

Joseph Francis Nebus (nebusj@theorem.math.rpi.edu)
10 Oct 1995 14:50:23 -0400

lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) writes:

> Quick. You are 6 foot 1 inch tall. You have been strapped
> to a pole mounted on a railroad car. The railroad car is
> of the exact height that your feet are now exactly 1 foot
> above the tracks.

> You are approaching a tunnel at roughly 60 MPH.

> Would you rather see a sign that gives the clearance in Meters
> or Feet?

> "Warning. 7 foot 2 inch Clearance!!"

> "Warning 2.158 Meter Clearance".

And they accuse Metric enthusiasts of coming up with arbitrary,
ludicrous conversions to support the inherent superiority of Metrics.

Alternative phrasing:

You are 1.8m tall. You are strapped to a pole mounted on a railroad
car so that you stand .3m above the tracks. You are approaching a tunnel
at 100 kph. Would you rather see that the clearance of the tunnel was

2.2 m

or

7 feet 2 inches

Hm?
Joseph Nebus
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