Tom is right. In the Netherlands we call folding measuring sticks 'inch sticks'
(duimstok, the Germans call it Zollstock, which means the same), there may be
inches and metric on them, but many inch sticks now come without inches. I have
a one meter inch stick at home. If I were not in a self service shop I would
ask: "I would like to buy an inch stick please, but there must be no inches on
it, only centimeters and millimeters". I would be perfectly understood.
Just like the fathometer, it may be metric only,
Han
Datum: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 14:17:19 +0000 (WET)
Van: Tom Wade VMS Systems <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Aan: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Antwoord-Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Onderwerp: [USMA:11630] Metric Yardsticks
Onderde(e)l(en):
>That's about as bad as the sign I saw in a Canadian hardware store.
>They were selling "metric yardsticks".
There is nothing wrong with this. Long after units like "yard" and "feet"
are forgotten, you can still have things called "yardsticks" that measure
distance, only they will be calibrated in meters, and nobody will realize
why they were called this.
As an analogy, we still using the term "plumbing" to describe piping, long
after such pipes ceased to be made of lead (plumbum = latin for lead).
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