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The funny things thread


Gorth

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Well they're not subservient sheep like all you Europeans, obviously.

 

 

That and inertia, too, at least for the day-to-day matters. I still get a better sense of someone's height when they say they're 6'3" than I would for 190 cm or something along those lines.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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Actually I'm not bothered b y the Imperial vs Metric split. I'm happy mixing it all up and using both.

 

The one that bugs me is the month-day-year thing... ;)

 

Edit: And to move on to more amusing, but accurate things..

 

BestSuperPower.jpg

Edited by Raithe
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Imperial measurements make a lot of sense for anything designed around people. I still buy food by the pound rather than kilo because you can tell easily how much you need. And as Malc says, feet and inches tells you people's heights a lot better. I only use metric for mm because it's so much more convenient than saying teenths of an inch or whatever if you're measuring plate metal (for example).

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You only know that because of past reference not because it's a better system. I happen to know that a carton of milk weighs around 1 kg, so I know what I'm dealing with.

 

A foot is what.. it's not even the length of a foot, or the average length of a stride. That would make sense. You might as well call it an 'elbow' for all the real world inference you can get from it.

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A foot is what.. it's not even the length of a foot, or the average length of a stride. That would make sense. You might as well call it an 'elbow' for all the real world inference you can get from it.

Danes used to have an 'Alen' (Ell), which was more than an elbow (an arms length = two elbows?) Danish units of measurement

 

Ell as an old Germanic unit of measure.

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
 

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A foot is actually the size of my foot, so I have no idea what Gorgon is talking about. Actually my foot is an inch short, but when wearing a shoe that pretty much makes it about right.

 

This means it is easy for me to work out the square footage of place simply by walking it. I'd have a bit more trouble working out the meters.

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Just for Gorgon (and apropos the elbow unit).

 

cubit - A biblical unit of distance. It is the distance between a man's middle finger and his elbow. It is about 18 inches or 45 centimeters. A cubit is divided into 6 palms or 24 digits.

 

Other funny units:

 

barn - Those nuclear physicists are a funny bunch. They define a "barn" (yes, from the saying "as big as a barn") as a cross section of an atomic nucleus. It is 10-28 m2. This unit of measurement is used when these physicists/comedians need to quantify the scattering cross-section of particles. An outhouse is defined as 10-6 barn and a shed is 10-24 barns.

 

klick - It's military-talk for kilometer. The term became popular in the 1960s among American soliders in Vietnam, though some believed it had been used as early as the 1950s by soldiers stationed in Germany. It probably came from the "k" and the "l" in "kilometer," but I suspect the soldiers thought it was cooler to say klick than kil-o-meh-tur. (Source)

 

jerk - Ever feel a jerk of the car when you accelerate fast? Well, engineers define a jerk as a unit of the rate of change of acceleration. 1 jerk is equal to 0.3048 m/sec3.

 

From this website

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
 

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A foot is actually the size of a foot, from memory. So yes, as Hurlshot points out it's a blinding straightforward unit to use.

 

EDIT: Maybe not your feet, as such. But it's a simple thing to imagine.

 

If you were measuring, say vehicle interiors, having everything in forearm lengths would be much easier to work with.

Edited by Walsingham

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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A foot is actually the size of a foot, from memory. So yes, as Hurlshot points out it's a blinding straightforward unit to use.

 

EDIT: Maybe not your feet, as such. But it's a simple thing to imagine.

 

If you were measuring, say vehicle interiors, having everything in forearm lengths would be much easier to work with.

 

My sister has a size 35 (8,20 inches) foot, my girlfriend has a size 37 (8.88 inches) foot, I have a size 43 foot (10.56 inches), a friend of mine at work as a size 45 (11.25 inches). Tell me again how a foot is a helpful system of measurement.

 

This chart might also help.

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The point is that I know roughly how big it is, Pid. Not that I know precisely how big it is.

 

And working in tens is all very well, but working in threes is how people actually function easily.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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The point is that I know roughly how big it is, Pid. Not that I know precisely how big it is.

 

And working in tens is all very well, but working in threes is how people actually function easily.

 

I can look at a length and roughly tell how many meters it is. It's called practice and habit.

"My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian tourist
I am Dan Quayle of the Romans.
I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands.
Heja Sverige!!
Everyone should cuffawkle more.
The wrench is your friend. :bat:

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Well, maybe so. Let us salute, and move on.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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A meter will always be a meter.

Would you be happy to know that the meter has changed several times? The most recently being in 1975, where it was based on the speed of light. Prior to that it was something like the wavelength of light from a krypton-86 lamp. Which was apparently asymmetric, hence the problem. And before that it was a particular metal bar.
"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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A meter will always be a meter.

Would you be happy to know that the meter has changed several times? The most recently being in 1975, where it was based on the speed of light. Prior to that it was something like the wavelength of light from a krypton-86 lamp. Which was apparently asymmetric, hence the problem. And before that it was a particular metal bar.

Which changed size depending on the room temperature... ;)

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
 

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All numbers we impose on the universe are arbitrary. Some just appear to be less arbitrary then others...

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"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."

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A meter will always be a meter.

Would you be happy to know that the meter has changed several times? The most recently being in 1975, where it was based on the speed of light. Prior to that it was something like the wavelength of light from a krypton-86 lamp. Which was apparently asymmetric, hence the problem. And before that it was a particular metal bar.

 

Wasn't even born there. And by how much did it change?

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Raithe has a point. ANY number we choose to measure things by is no more or less sensible than a monarch's appendage. The only hilarious thing in this discussion is your touching and childlike faith in the men in white coats.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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