Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))
Graham R Pearson (ceegrp@cee.hw.ac.uk)
Thu, 12 Oct 1995 16:27:22 GMT
Lon Stowell opened his rectun, and out gushed:
> 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. This is enough
> to cause a severe Excedrin headache if you guess wrong as to
> how much clearance you have.
>
> 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".
>
> Bye-Bye, metric wienie.
Quick. You are 1.8m tall. You have been strapped to a pole as above, so
your feet are 0.3m above the tracks. Which sign would you rather see?
"Warning. 2.15m Clearance!"
"Warning. 7 foot 10/16 inch Clearance!"
Or alternatively.... You are 6 foor 5 inch tall. You are strapped etc so
your feet are 10 inches above the ground. The sign says:
"Warning. 7 foot 0 inch Clearance!"
You guess (wrongly) that there are 16 inches in a foot, so you have an inch
to spare. Splat.
(For those born after 1930: there are 12 inches in a foot.)
Just my fourpence-and-3.2-farthings worth.
_
Graham R. Pearson / _ NATURE'S LAWS #10
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