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Re: [RC] Other nations and endurance - Joe LongOn Wed, 9 Aug 2006 17:03:16 -0700, "Barbara McCrary" <bigcreekranch@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Our government tried to initiate the whole metric thing in the USA and some of us never caught on...that is, we couldn't translate. I guess the government gave up. We're still using our own bizarre method of describing distances and volume, etc. Maybe metric makes more sense, but we're used to our methods and it's a lot of work to learn a new "language." <g> "The gummint" did a poor job, as usual. The PR ads made metric sound more complicated than English units, when they are in fact much easier to use. It is only the unfamiliarity of metric that scares people. Metric will eventually dominate, slowly. It is not only already common in beverage bottles, but nuts & bolts for automobiles as well, and in computers. And kids are taught metric in school, it won't seem unfamilar to them as they get older. Never fear, expressions like "foot-long hot dog" and "a miss is as good as a mile" will be around long after those units have fallen into general disuse. They still measure flat-track races in furlongs! Hmmm, I once stated the average speed to drive in a car rally I put on in "furlongs per fortnight." And once specified the length of something in "gallons per acre." -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.chiprider.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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