The change came to me out of a vending machine, and it was a quarter. In the U.S., 25c pieces (officially called quarter dollars) issued from 1999 to 2008, inclusive, bear a special reverse design for each state. What caught my eye on this quarter was the North Carolina design, commemorating the first airplane flight by Wilbur and Orville Wright, which was accomplished at Kitty Hawk, NC. North Carolina became a state in 1789, and has a history spanning two centuries. The State Quarter committee there could have picked any of a number of earlier historic scenes to represent its people. Yet its entry of pride into the 50 State Quarters celebration was an advance in technology.
Those who do not think the U.S. should fully adopt the metric system of measurement because that system is "too scientific" should consider North Carolina's value set, as well as the value sets of a number of other states as represented in this unique series of U.S. circulating commemorative coins. We are a scientific people. There is no reason for the universal language of science to be segregated away from us in our daily national life. This has been, literally, my two bits'* worth! *U.S. slang for 25c -- Paul Trusten, R.Ph. Public Relations Director U.S. Metric Association, Inc. Phone (432)528-7724 www.metric.org 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 Midland TX 79707-2872 USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://oleapothecary.blog.com
