situation of two years ago.
We bought new ticket printers. They have replaceable thermal print heads.
The manufacturer (IER of France) spec sheets said they are good for 100 km of
tickets before they have to be replaced.
The person in charge of the replacement project asked how many tickets that
was.
I took one ticket and measured it -- 20 cm.
Then, doing the calculations while speaking this sentence, I immediately
replied, "5 tickets to a meter, 5000 to a km, so 500,000 to 100 km, or 500
boxes of tickets." (There are 1000 tickets to a box.)
"How did you do that so fast?"
"Easy, if you use the right measurements. Now, figure it out with 8 inch
tickets and a print head good for 62 miles of tickets. Do it in your head,
and as fast as I did."
What got him confused at first was the colonial-unit mentality of thinking
that a kilometer was something you measured driving distances with (like a
mile is), instead of simply a multiple of a base unit. The problems inherent
in having 20 different names for one measurement (length).
Carleton
In a message dated 2001-03-14 18:20:58 Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
On Wed, 14 Mar 2001 00:47:29 -0000, "Phil Durden" wrote:
>Here's a few questions to try out on any fool who says that imperial is
>easier to use than metric. Do NOT use a calculator, but do time yourself
for
>each question -
>
>1a. How many grams are there in 7 metric tonnes?
>1b. How many ounces are there in 7 imperial tons?
>
>2a. Given that it is 380 000 km to the moon, how far is that in metres?
>2b. Given that it is 250 000 miles to the moon, how far is that in feet?
>
>3a. A swimming pool is 25 m long, 10m wide and averages 1.5 m deep. How
many
>litres does it hold? What is that in cc?
>3b. Another swmming pool (an old one) is 25 yards long, 10 yards wide,
>3/4 of a fathom deep. How many gallons does it hold? What is that in
fl.oz.?
>
>4a. If 1m� of water weighs 1000 kg, how much does 1km� weigh?
>4b. If 1yd� of water weighs 1685 lb 8�oz.(approx!), how much does 1
mile�
>of water weigh?
>
>5a. The Eiffel Tower is 320 m high. How high is a scale model of it at
>1:100, measured in cm?
>5b. The Chrysler Building is 1047 feet high. How tall is a scale model
at
>1:100, measured in inches?
>
>6a. How many cubic centimetres are there in a litre?
>6b. WITHOUT referring to the metric system, how many cubic inches in a
>pint?
>
>7a. A tray measuring 50x30 cm by 2 cm deep is left outside in the rain.
How
>many litres of rainwater does it hold when it is full?
>7b. Another tray measuring 2 feet x 1 foot by 1 inch in depth is left
>outside in the rain. How many pints does it hold when full?
>
>8a. How many cm is 8.43 cm + 2.11 cm + 6.40 cm + 1.59 cm?
>8b. How many inches is 6 3/32" + 2 7/8" + 9 3/4" + 4 29/64"?
>
>9a. A shop prices carrots loose by the kilo, at 20 p/kg. It also has
>pre-packed 2.5 kg bags of carrots at 53 p each. Which is better value?
>9b. Another shop (in Sunderland) prices potatoes loose by the pound
only,
>at 12p/lb. It also sells pre-packed 5kg bags of potatoes at �1.10 each.
>Which is better value?
>
>There's a few teasers, let's hear some more like that please!
>
>Phil D
