Dear Bill, At your instigation, I checked my dimensions. I have interspersed my results.
on 4/11/03 9:34 AM, Bill Potts at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > You must have enormous hands, Pat. I've never thought of them as large, but perhaps they are slightly larger than most. On this theme, I remember reading the statistics of a heavyweight boxer whose hands were reported here as being 150 mm across the knuckles � now that's an impressive fist that I would not like to have travelling at high speed towards my nose � check it on your ruler! > I'm 183 cm tall, normally proportioned, I'm a little taller than you at 1.85 metres > with fair-sized hands, yet my thumb > nail's thickness is closer to 0.5 mm. As for the other dimensions: I remeasured both of my thumbnail thicknesses with a sliding vernier scale (with a precision to 0.02 millimetres) and they are both about 1.1 millimetres; the fingernail on my other fingers are nearer to 1 millimetre. > Thumbnail width = 17 mm On remeasuring my thumbnail width is also about 17 millimetres � the same as yours. > Hand width across top knuckles = 85 mm My hands across the top of the knuckles are about 98 millimetres. I round this to 100 millimetres. Coincidentally, when I have had occasion to measure large numbers of men's hands, their most common reported result is 100 mm. Women are more likely to report hand widths of about 85 millimetres. I regard an 85 millimetre hand as about average for women but slender for men. > Hand span = 205 mm (even if my joints had the flexibility they had in my > youth, I still couldn't manage 250 mm) To span 250 millimetres from thumb to little finger is quite a stretch for me; however, I can do this more easily if I use a span from my thumb to my third (ring) finger. By the way, is the forefinger span � from thumb to forefinger used much in the USA? For me, without stretching, my forefinger span is about 200 millimetres. > My little finger nail and my personal cubit are about the same as yours. Yep, 10 millimetres for the little finger nail and about 503 millimetres for the cubit, which I round down to 500 millimetres. Thanks for the feedback. I'll ditch the thumbnail width. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Behalf Of Pat Naughtin >> Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 00:23 >> To: U.S. Metric Association >> Subject: [USMA:27409] Re: Presentation Outline >> >> >> Dear Matthew, >> >> Euric and John offer good ideas. I will try to elaborate on them by making >> them more personal to your participants. >> >> Take several metre sticks. Stick them to the walls and or doors of >> the room.. >> >> Put two metre sticks on a wall so that your audience can all find their >> height (in metres to the nearest 0.05 say 1.65 metres or 1.70 metres is >> best). If you try to do this in millimetres � or even centimetres >> � you will >> strike all of the problems associated with measurement accuracy. >> >> Use the metre sticks and other, metric only, rulers to have your audience >> measure (the values are mine to give you a guide): >> >> Thumbnail thickness 1 millimetre >> Little finger nail width 10 millimetres >> Thumbnail width 20 millimetres >> Hand width across knuckles 100 millimetres >> Hand span 250 millimetres >> Cubit (elbow to tip of long finger) 500 millimetres >> >> I like to use two cubits by placing my fingertips together, thus making my >> elbows 1000 millimetres or 1 metre apart. If your cubit is slightly less >> that 500 millimetres then leave an appropriate gap between the ends of you >> fingers at the centre of your chest. [My wife's cubit is about 450 >> millimetres, so she uses this 'leave-a-gap' trick when she is measuring the >> furniture (again) to see where it will move to this time]. >> >> Take as many bathroom scales as you need that read in kilograms only � do >> not use dual scales unless you have to. I have been known to take bathroom >> scales to pieces to white-out the pounds on a dual scale. >> >> Prepare a chart to show how to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). Provide >> calculators for this purpose. >> >> Have Celsius only thermometers placed in highly visible positions. >> >> Mark out a ten metre 'pacing line' so that your audience can check how many >> of their own paces are ten metres. Also have them measure the length of >> their feet, for measuring smaller horizontal lengths. As examples, my feet >> with shoes are 330 millimetres long and this means that three feet to me is >> quite close to 1 metre. Later, mark out an unknown length (of >> about 12 or 13 >> metres, and get your audience to guess how long it is by using their own >> paces. >> >> Cut out a square metre from carpet or vinyl off-cuts. Find out how many >> people can stand on a square metre? How many people can be stacked on a >> square metre? If you can't find carpet or vinyl, then use stout paper. >> >> Make four square metres from some light material (I use oxy welding rods) � >> these four square metres can be tied together to make a cubic metre. >> However, this type of construction is not robust enough to fill with people >> � you need better construction for this. I can't begin to tell you >> the power >> of this single cubic metre as a learning aid. After all most people have >> never seen a cubic yard either. >> >> Anyway that should be enough to get you started. The key features are: >> >> With these steps you are using visual, audio, and kinaesthetic >> influences to >> allow your audience come to terms with metric measures at their own pace. >> >> Focus on becoming familiar with the 'new' metric units. >> It is not necessary to mention old units at all. >> Don't convert any old units to metric units or vice versa, and don't get >> involved in discussions about conversions, simply say that your goal is to >> provide your audience with metric experiences that will parallel their >> knowledge of old units � not to replace them � and not to convert between >> them. >> >> Finally, construct your talk to discuss all of your audiences >> newly acquired >> experiences with metric measures. By the time you have steered your >> participants through the measuring exercises, your talk will be much better >> because your know a little about your audience members and how they will >> react to your talk. >> >> Good luck with your efforts. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Pat Naughtin LCAMS >> Geelong, Australia >> >> Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication >> matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words >> subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> -- >> >> on 3/11/03 10:20 AM, Matthew Zotter at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> >>> 2003 NOV 02 SUN >>> >>> I'm just gathering general ideas. I have no invitation to >> speak; but when I >>> do, I'd like a plan of attack. I know that this forum has plenty of good >>> idea. >>> >>>> Could you let me have some more details about the audience? >>> Possible elementary, middle, high school, or college; or >> engineering society >>> meeting. >>> >>>> What is the occasion? >>> Metric week, invitation, etc. >>> >>>> Why were you invited? >>> N/A >>> >>>> Were you specifically invited to talk about metrication? >>> Let's say "yes" >>> If I said "no", how would I weave in metrication >>> >>>> How many people? >>> 5 to 10 >>> or >>> 20 to 100 >>> >>>> What is their background? >>> Situation dependent >>> >>>> How much time do you have for preparation? >>> Let's say, 30 minutes >>> or >>> 1 to 2 hours >>> >>>> Is there space at the venue to do physical things such as pacing fifty >>>> metres? >>> Maybe >>> >>> Please share all ideas. Thank you for your time and information. >>> >>> Sincerely, >>> Matthew Zotter >>> SC, USA >>> >
