Imagine if the states switched from pounds to kilos overnight
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The explanation that I heard once had to do with the side of the horse people mounted from. Of course, this doesn't explain why most British Commonwealth members (and the US) drive on the right. I would have thought they would have inherited the British way of doing things...
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
I found this explanation:
Quote:
At a time when the main danger on the roads was mugging, careful travellers would pass on-coming strangers on the left with their sword arm towards the passer-by.
. It might just be an invented theory. Anyway I'm not sure the bit about French is correct:
Quote:
Later, class distinction in France meant that aristocrats drove their carriages on the left side of the road forcing everybody else over to the centre or to the right-hand side. Keeping left had really only ever applied to riding or driving. With the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the subsequent declaration of the rights of man in 1791 many aristocrats decided to keep to the ‘poor side’ of the road so as not to draw attention to themselves.
I think, them being French, just wanted to piss everyone off: "Vive la differance!" :laugh:
Mircea
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
The link in your signature is broken.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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It was a botched joke on density. I debated if explaining it or not, I probably chose the wrong option. Changing units of measure is tough for anyone. I'm approaching aviation where everything is in knots and miles and feet and holy cow.
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X The shortest horror story: On Error Resume Next
I'm just gonna shut up man. I'm old and grumpy. La la la.
Jeremy Falcon
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It takes a genius to recognize a genius; clearly you don't. :thumbsup: Also, I bet you're ugly. Ha ha ha ha. Joking. But, I'll repeat that for 20 years. Ha ha ha. You must laugh now or else you have the problem and are boring at parties.
Jeremy Falcon
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Also, since you can't read... it was a lousy joke that's been repeated 1,000s of times. And mix that with countless chats about how people feel superior (not joking) about using it on CP for the past 20 YEARS... I don't expect you to understand when you're part of the problem.
Jeremy Falcon
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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Kilos of what?
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Meters, of course. Imagine the mass confusion if we start measuring fruit, vegetables etc. in kilometers!
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
We can already have a yard of grass.
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Why did all the left-side-of-the-road countries to choose that side anyway?
There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
- Thomas SowellA day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.
- Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)I live in India, and we drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel being on the right side of a car. My friend, who also lives in India, used to share his driving experience in the US, during business visits. At the time of landing in US, he forcefully 'switches' his brain left and right hemispheres, so as to drive properly over there.
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Correct URL for your sig: :) Opinion: The unspoken truth about managing geeks – Computerworld[^] /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Also, since you can't read... it was a lousy joke that's been repeated 1,000s of times. And mix that with countless chats about how people feel superior (not joking) about using it on CP for the past 20 YEARS... I don't expect you to understand when you're part of the problem.
Jeremy Falcon
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As you point out it depends on the tool used. I have a metal ruler with metric on one side and imperial on the other. Millimeters are more granular than fractions of an inch, and it seems like so many measurements go somewhere in between the 1/16th inch markers but are closer to the mm markers. I don't own any calipers...
There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
- Thomas SowellA day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.
- Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)I have a steel rule from my apprentice days with divisions of 1/32" for the first inch then 1/16" thereafter. You can measure to the nearest 1/32" with it pretty easily (it has the temperature at which it is correct engraved on it, too). As has been already said, the units don't affect the accuracy, it's how you measure. Someone on farcebook claimed the reason the USA uses Fahrenheit is because it's more accurate than using Celsius - same disclaimer applies. Celsius (and Kelvin) and the metric (SI) system are easier for scientific calculations because the various constants have been defined in terms of those base units. You'd have to do all your calculation in terms of fractions of a foot and pound though, if you wanted to use imperial. It's convenience, really.
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Only for the densest people
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X The shortest horror story: On Error Resume Next
Reminds me of this question of yesteryears: Which is heavier - One kilogram of iron OR one kilogram of cotton? (Or, in imperial units, one pound of iron OR one pound of cotton) This is from a book called "Physics for Entertainment" by Perelman, written more than 100 years ago, Russia.
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
I'd just like to say "Litres, gallons, pints, cubic centimetres" - which, I think, speaks volumes. (coat on, door closing behind me ...)
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There would be mass confusion.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
The basic lumber for building here in the US is called a "2 by 4" -- a piece of wood (usually pine) that many years ago was 2 inches by 4 inches by some length (such as 8 feet long). Today that piece of wood in a lumber yard is actually 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches by some length. Not sure why the size shrunk other than saving a few dollars for the lumber mill. As a typically uninformed American, what is the basic equivalent piece of lumber elsewhere in the world? These are the deep questions retirement allows me to ponder. Best wishes from Minnesota - Craig
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Or maybe you're just a narcissist who can't read, little man. Go crawl back into your anonymous little scaredy-cat hole.
Jeremy Falcon
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Reminds me of this question of yesteryears: Which is heavier - One kilogram of iron OR one kilogram of cotton? (Or, in imperial units, one pound of iron OR one pound of cotton) This is from a book called "Physics for Entertainment" by Perelman, written more than 100 years ago, Russia.
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We can already have a yard of grass.
