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From: jal@oliveb.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Metric vs. English units
Message-ID: <5717@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Sep-87 03:56:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: oliveb.5717
Posted: Thu Sep 24 03:56:22 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Sep-87 11:18:36 EDT
References: <3471@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <2047@zeus.TEK.COM> <2805@phri.UUCP> <729@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 26
Xref: utgpu sci.space:2928 sci.space.shuttle:342
Summary: easy

In article <729@sugar.UUCP>, peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
> > I can understand that, especially since there are 2.45 centimeters
> > (254 mm) to the inch!
> 
> Big inches and centimeters, there. last I checked that was 24.5, not
> 245 (or 254).

Gee whiz - the metric system is meant to be easy!!!  A metre (yes, that's
how we spell it in Australia, where we use the metric system - so don't
bother attempting to flame my spelling!!) is about 39 inches.  A centi-
metre is one one-hundredth of a metre, and a millimetre is one one-
thousandth of a metre.  From this, most people should be able to deduce
that there are ten millimetres in a centimetre; so the digits involved
remain the same and the decimal point moves one place.  An inch is
generally specified as 2.54 cm, so it must be 25.4 mm.  If you can't
remember whether it's 254 or 245, try doing the calculation yourself
(100 cm / 39 inches).  It's not perfect, but it will put the 5 first,
and 3 feet 3 inches is a fairly easy figure to remember....

Can we just let this die now?  It isn't really worth the brainstrain
that people seem to be exerting.

Tony Landells.
-- 
"Holy oleo, Batman!!"
"Why Boy Wonder; I didn't know you could yodel!"