lufkin measurement booklet

[Herman Trivilino]

In a bar, the whisky is now sold in millilitres, yet beer is in pints.

I love how you don't go to a bar for a beer. You go to a pub for a pint. And your pints are larger than a half litre. Whereas ours are smaller than a half liter.

We go through her figures and found the discrepancy. She had used 3.04 metres. So I pointed out that I wanted three point four metres. She said that was what she had used. After some clarification on this, she said "Oh. You mean you want three point forty."

I love that, too. Also love the way you call out fractions of a pound (of money). As in "three pounds sixty" meaning of course 3 pounds 60 pence, otherwise known as £3.60.

In the USA we would call out $3.60 as simply "three sixty" or sometimes if asked for a clarification "three dollars and sixty cents".

[Ken S]

If we are being so precise, when I purchase a gallon of gasoline in the US, priced at $2.19 9/10, if I give the clerk $2.20, what happened to my change?

Ken

[Elden]

   You purchased $2.20 worth of gasoline instead of 1 gallon. By the way if you can get the pump stopped on exactly $2.20 intentionally, you are doing pretty well! Getting the pump stopped at exactly 1.000 gallons would be a real feat to accomplish.  I would assume the computerized pump would follow normal mathematical rounding rules.

[Ken S]

I realize that, Eldon.  Pricing a gallon of gasoline in tenths of a cent seems outdated.

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

If we are being so precise, when I purchase a gallon of gasoline in the US, priced at $2.19 9/10, if I give the clerk $2.20, what happened to my change?

Ken

If you get 10 gallons, Ken, you'll get your change of one penny!

[RobinW]

I wish to keep the members of this Forum up to date with regard to the never ending wonderful world of dimensions and their variants!

There is an article "Collector's Guide to Rules" in this month's Furniture and Cabinet Making magazine. This covers various types of wooden rules, their scales and uses.

I came across one part, describing a particular rule, from which I quote:-

"The rule is calibrated both in Swiss inches, divided into lignes or 1/12th of an inch, and in English inches, divided into sixteenths. Interestingly 25 Swiss inches are the equivalent of 24 English inches. The rule is also calibrated in centimetres and along the edge in French pouces."

(For those unfamiliar with aged French units of measurement, according to Wikipedia,
pouce ~1.066 in)

So not only do we have the those on the west side of the pond having alternative versions of gallons and miles, I now find we have the Swiss interfering with the inch! Now come on guys. Who invented the inch? Who has the intellectual property rights? Why can't you just accept our inch? Maybe that's why the Swiss are not in the EU and we're trying to extricate ourselves? (Better not get involved with politics on this Forum otherwise I may be asked to log out permanently!)

[Jan]

When my British English teacher defends the imperial system of units, I ask him, what the density of water is. He does not know it. In SI countries, every schoolboy above 12, knows that water density is about 1 gram per cubic centimetre. Using the main SI unit for density, the water density is 1000 kilograms per cubic meter.

[RobinW]

Jan

I wouldn't expect your English teacher to know about lb/ft cubed; or slugs; dynes; ergs; poles; chains and the multiplicity of other units of measurements we have used over the centuries.

Whilst certain countries have invented their variations of imperial units, I am not aware of the same countries doing the same to SI units.

The resulting chaos would be great!

[Ken S]

I do enjoy this good natured banter.

My favorite Mark Twain quote comes to mind, "Man is the only animal with the one true religion, all seven of them."

We can't even agree on a common sign language. I think that is a real tragedy. A person who is hungry in Switzerland feels the same as a person who is hungry anywhere in the world. Wouldn't it be wonderful if those who knew signing could be our translators?

Some people even call soccer something else.   

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if those who knew signing could be our translators?

Ken

Uhm, heard of this guy and his story?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_K._Bliss
http://www.radiolab.org/story/257194-man-became-bliss/

[Jan]

Jan

I wouldn't expect your English teacher to know about lb/ft cubed; or slugs; dynes; ergs; poles; chains and the multiplicity of other units of measurements we have used over the centuries.

Whilst certain countries have invented their variations of imperial units, I am not aware of the same countries doing the same to SI units.

The resulting chaos would be great!

You are correct, Robin. My English teacher knows that the unit of density is lb/ft cubed, but he does not know that the density of water is some 62 lb/cu ft. It was very surprising for me, because I use the density of water as a measure. I know, that wood is somewhat lighter than water, sand is two times heavier and steel is almost eight times heavier than water.  Without this etalon my life would be slightly different.

Jan

[Ken S]

SADW,

Charles Bliss sounds like a remarkable man. Thank you for posting.

Robin, I think we have found the tower of Babbel.

Jan, I lived in the city where I graduated college until I was sixty one. That gave me the rewarding opportunity to know some of my professors as an adult. You remind me of two of those professors. One was a geologist, the other a physicist. Both had doctorates from Yale. What impressed me about both of them and you is they never lost their curiosity and love of learning. I hope you are sharing that with your grandchildren; it is a lifelong gift.

Ken