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Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))
Edward Rice (ehrice@his.com)
Thu, 19 Oct 1995 00:38:34 -0500
In article <460ift$qql@hermes.cair.du.edu>,
ruhl@phoebe.cair.du.edu (Robert A. Uhl) wrote:
> In article <813880535snz@chrism.demon.co.uk>,
> Chris Marriott <chris@chrism.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >>In article <hatunenDGH61F.Dy0@netcom.com>,
> >>DaveHatunen <hatunen@netcom.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>Oh, things like this bottle of shampoo I have in my shower right
> >>now, I'd presume. Made in the US, it proudly sports Imperial
> >>measurements, along with a metric measurement for those of us who
> >>have trouble converting:
> >>
> >> 8.7 oz (250 ml)
> >
> >Huh? How can you equate a unit of mass with a unit of volume?
>
> Sometime last century our government replaced the old sensible
> system os two mouthfuls = 1 jigger, 2 jiggers = 1 jack, 2 jacks = 1
> jill (or gill), 2 jills = 1 cup &c. with 8 fluid oz. = 1 cup. So a
> fl. oz. is a jigger.
>
> Jiggers are still used, esp. when pouring drinks. And cups must be
> marked 1/2 cup because few remember what a jill is. Silly. But the
> enthusiasts who actually care know. SIgh.
I thought this was a troll, actually, and I'm still not sure. My
dictionary lists gill and shows that "jill" is in fact the pronunciation
(all these years, I'd been calling it a Gill, like on a fish). But it
doesn't list jack as a measure.
How deep is the hook, or do I need a new, old dictionary?
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