On another note I went to the local auto parts store and asked for "1 meter of 8mm fuel line" and they really didn't have a problem with it.
---------- Original Message ----------- From: "Bill Potts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:48:42 -0700 Subject: [USMA:30215] A little interlude at the supermarket > I sent this yesterday and it didn't appear. First we get duplicates, > then nothing at all. <g> > > So, here goes again: > > My wife and I were doing some shopping yesterday (Wednesday). At the > deli counter, we ordered 1/2 lb of sliced ham. (I don't torture the supermarket > employees by specifying a unit for which their equipment isn't > calibrated.) > > I then added that it was 227 grams. The lady who was serving me made > a humorous comment that led me to assume that she wasn't totally unfamiliar > with metric measurements. So I added, "Of course, if I was actually ordering > in metric, I would ask for 250 grams." She seemed to understand. > When the ham weighed in at 0.57 lb, I said "I'll take that. It's > close enough to 250 grams." She laughed appreciatively. > > Standing next in line to us was a youngish woman with her teenage daughter. > We exchanged a little repartee and I made some comment about metric > quantities. She told me she didn't "understand metrics." That's a typical > response, but people usually use the correct term, "metric," rather than > that awful "metrics." I asked her daughter if she learned the metric > system in school. She said she did, but that she didn't really > remember any of it. I didn't ask whether or not she was an A > student. I think I know what the answer would have been. > > We still have a long way to go. > > Bill Potts, CMS > Roseville, CA > http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] ------- End of Original Message -------
