Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> THANK GOD FOR METRIC!!! >_<

I find that metric works well for things bigger than people, but poorly 
for things on a human scale. A pint or cup are both more convenient then 
0.3 liters or whatever. A centimeter is too small, a meter is too big.

And of course 10 is hard to divide. I'm told that the standard size for 
things like construction materials (planks, drywall, etc) is multiples 
of 1.2 meters, because you can actually cut it in thirds and quarters 
and such.   I would have to look at a construction tape-measure in 
Europe somewhere to figure that out.

Interestingly, many measurements in China are combinations of the two. 
The "chinese foot" is a third of a meter. The "chinese inch" is two 
centimeters. The "chinese ton" (tonne?) is 1000 Kg I think. Technically 
metric, but in a convenient scale.

Oh, and for what it's worth, the measures you use in the US are the 
inch, the foot, the yard, and the mile.  Area is the square yard or the 
acre. Volume is gallons, quarts, and ounces. (Pints and cups and all 
that if you're measuring cooking ingredients.)

The only time you see hands or furlongs are in horse races; the height 
of a horse is measured in hands, and the distance a horse runs is 
measured in furlongs. Nobody converts miles to yards or inches, either. 
Mils are only used in measuring things like the thickness of paper or 
cloth; It's not an everyday sort of thing. Listing all these things and 
saying imperial measurement is thus confusing is like complaining there 
are fortnights *and* weeks.

More confusing than metric, I'll grant, but not more confusing than 
complaining about weeks being seven days or days being 24 hours. 
Personally, having grown up with it, I find it quite useful to be able 
to say "my desk is 2 feet deep" rather than "my desk is 0.666666 meters 
deep." :-)

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     "That's pretty. Where's that?"
          "It's the Age of Channelwood."
     "We should go there on vacation some time."

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