Dear Stan,
Thanks for your kind remarks and for your most interesting story about
the plumbing standards. The sad part of that story is that an
unethical individual can sometimes tip the legislative and regulatory
balances in their own favor and in doing so corrupt the whole world
for generations.
I recall the story of the Enfield rifle factory where they had their
own 'inch' that was slightly smaller than the Imperial 'inch'. For
first world war soldiers in the field who needed to exchange rifle
parts on their '303', this corruption was deadly as they could
inadvertently produce an unusable weapon.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Geelong, Australia
On 2008/10/10, at 2:42 AM, Stan Jakuba wrote:
Amen, Pat. It would be hard to write a more thorough study.
Congratulations!
I always considered the -er, -re issue too silly to get involved.
Its existence contradicted the image I held for my adopted country
as being practical, common sense, and free to chose.
Your story, unfortunately, reminds me of a similar, far more
expensive issue - the American effort to push thru the U.S. pipe
thread ("National Pipe Thread" or NPT). This was so that one
influential businessman could make a lot of money in making and
selling the associated cutting and gaging tools. The whole world at
that time used the British (later ISO) pipe standard and thus the
mostly U.K.-made tools. NPT made Mr. Sellers wealthier, and his
cronies within ASME and government probably also (I do not imply
anything illegal, just unethical).
For those not familiar with pipe threads, the differences between
the NP and the ISO threads are not perceptible by naked eye. As a
result - do I need to continue? Zillions in all kinds of currencies
wasted in malfunctioning of machinery repaired all over the world
with mixed threads. Here in the US, it is billions of dollars wasted
in leaks and similar problems when imported machinery is "repaired"
with NPT fittings. "But is seemed to fit" is the usual excuse.
Similarly it is abroad with the U.S.- made machinery (although that
problem has now lessened - not much machinery is made here, let lone
exported).
Those who read about NPT history may recall all kinds of advantages
claimed for it. In fact, there are none for all practical purposes,
and whatever minute improvement it offered, "screwing up" (pun
intended) the whole world with a redundant standard hurts everyone,
the U.S. including.
I agree that the meter, metre controversy cost money. Not only that,
I believe that blocking the alternative -re contributed greatly to
the failure of adopting metric in the 1970s in the U.S. And as with
the NP thread, it was only a few that had to have things the
American way. Pat (as others before him) tells us in beautifully
uncertain terms: -re is just as American as -er. Most people, like
myself, could not care less either way (including dropping the
controversial -e- altogether). As for Mr. Sellers, the proponent of
NP - he went for the money. Unlike with the -er, that reason is at
least understandable.
Stan Jakuba
----- Original Message -----
From: Pat Naughtin
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: 08 Oct 07, Tuesday 17:52
Subject: [USMA:41803] Spelling metre or meter
Dear All,
I have cobbled together some thoughts on this issue and formed them
into an article that I have placed at:
http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf
I would appreciate any comments.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that
they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or
selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources
for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial,
industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and
in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google,
NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the
USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com for more metrication
information, contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or
to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
to subscribe.
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
to subscribe.
