2001-06-06
Randi,
Just for your personal information, the 10-gallon hat has nothing to do with
gallons the FFU volume unit. The word gallon as used here comes from the
Spanish word "gal�n" and means a "stripe" or a "braid". It referred to the
decorations on the hat and not to its supposed capacity.
This is what happens when a single word has two meanings and one of the
meanings is lost or obscure. The other confusing word is "mile". you have
land miles and nautical miles. Yet, I'd bet most people don't know there is
a difference of about 250 m. They think a mile is a mile is a mile. The
nautical mile just means the distance is measured on sea instead of land.
Another old saying that was changed over time was the "miss is as good as a
mile". It originally was a "miss is as good as an ell". But ell is not
used here, so mile was substituted.
Some old sayings if metricated don't sound right, others there is no
problem. I actually find it easier to say I wouldn't touch such-n-such with
a 10 m pole than a 10 foot pole.
But, you are right, these old sayings need not be touched. They eventually
fall from use with time anyways and people come up with new ones that fit in
more with the customs of the day.
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrt�mlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
are free!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, 2001-06-06 22:58
Subject: [USMA:13526] No, *you* go first...
The voluntary approach to metrication has one fatal flaw: it leaves it up
to
everyday people, who, honestly, have more important things to obsess on.
Bitch and moan though some may, most neither care about metrication *nor*
saving Flintstone Units. They simply don't care very much about the
subject,
at least not to the degree we do.
On the other hand, they don't normally feel a need to *prevent* metrication,
either...in fact, the prevailing attitude among persons my age (35�) and
under is, "We probably *should* go metric, but *I'm* not gonna volunteer".
So
everyone waits for the other guy (or girl) to go first, and no-one does.
Therefore, I definitely support a federally mandated approach, but not along
the lines of, "okay, everyone, we're all metric in ten minutes." The
"Hondo"
approach is worse than the voluntary one, in that we'll try to change
everything at once, screw it up badly, then revert...anytime anyone suggests
trying again, opponents will point to the previous fiasco and declare,
"See!"
To do it right, do it painlessly, and do it permanently, we need:
* To devise a firm timetable AND STICK TO IT (pardon my caps)
* To show that it really will be good for business and industry, and even
the
general public
* To dispel this downright idiotic notion that metric is "un-American" or
"counter-Canadian" (We didn't invent FFU, either!)
* To not waste time on pointless, trivial "improvements" like renaming
ten-gallon hats, foot-long hot-dogs and Three Mile Island, PA, and
silly acts of "dekaphillia" (Does *anyone* sell a "dek-ova" of eggs in place
of 12? Anywhere?)
* Finally, to reassure people that their familiar IFP won't disappear
overnight and leave them in a lurch; it's a transition, not a
blitzkrieg;
grandpa won't have to trash his '74 Buick just because there are no km/h on
the speedometer
Remember, we're not a band of militant nerds hell-bent on dumping the apple
cart:
We're folks who love our respective countries and their people, and want to
bring about a much-needed - and long overdue - improvement to them.
Randi (The Long-winded)
