Dear Gail, You wrote:
> Again what you wrote is fantastic....can I post it on my facebook page? Go right ahead, I would be delighted. You asked: > Are fonts metric, by the way? No, fonts are not metric. They're not even based on inches; they're worse even than that. Modern typography is based a point that was originally 1/72 of an inch but when this was changed to decimal inches it came to a recurring decimal (0.01388888888…) so this was then rounded to 0.0138 so that fonts are not based on fractional inches, decimal inches, or based on the metric system. At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographic_unit they put it like this for the pica in the USA (that divided by 12 defines a point): The official standard approved by the Fifteenth Meeting of the Type Founders Association of the United States in 1886 was this Johnson pica: It equals 0.166 inch exactly one. Therefore the two other – very close – definitions: 1200 / 7227 inch and 350/83 mm are both unofficial. (This paragraph is written in 18pt Garamond - one of Steve Jobs preferred fonts in his early computers.) The story goes that Steve Jobs had to fill his subject list at university and the only one he could get into was a typography course. He had never heard f it, knew nothing about it, had no interest in it, but enrolled in it anyway. As a result of doing this course Steve Jobs used type faces extensively in the first Macintosh computers. It also appears to mean that he has little, if any, respect for the metric system or for any sort of standard (UK or USA) inch/ounce measures. You also asked about wine glasses On the subject of wine glasses, these are filled from a bottle that is usually 750 millilitres. This is based on the old standard UK bottle that was 1/6 of an Imperial gallon. This meant that a box of a dozen held 12 bottles that held two Imperial gallons. Each bottle held 26-2/3 fluid ounces (UK) and this amount when applied to a gallon (USA) came to be close to one fifth of the USA gallon, which for spirits such as Gin and Whisky became known as a "fifth". It follows that a "fifth" was a "sixth" of an Imperial gallon. When these bottles were upgraded to the metric system both nations (UK and USA) chose to use 750 mL as a goodish approximation (giving 9 litres of wine in a 12 bottle carton). I wonder if there is a saying here: "Can you go the whole nine litres?" (Ooh-ah!) Wine glasses are usually designed so they will give you 150 mL and this translates to five glasses per bottle. I won't comment on what happened to the 750 mL when it was used for spirits, but somehow 50 mL went missing and these bottles now usually contain only 700 millilitres of spirits. Hhhrrrmmmph! On a more serious note, non-metrication of the USA is extremely costly and I have no doubt that non-metrication contributes to the the current economic problems experienced by the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/CostOfNonMetrication.pdf Cheers (when raising your next glass of Yellow Glen), Pat Naughtin Geelong, Australia On 2011/01/14, at 14:00 , Gail Chatfield wrote: > Oh my stars, Pat, this is the best thing I have read about the metric system! > I am still cramped over in laughter! What you wrote is absolutely brilliant. > > My husband from Sydney sends his greetings. I know Melboune and Sydney are > pretty competitive (kinda like New York and California) but he agrees with > your summation. In fact, he particularly enjoyed #14 as he is in aviation. I > myself like # 11....my editor allows so many column inches to my rants but > actually only gives me 430 words...I try to choose the longest words possible > just to piss him off.......and get a few more millimeters! Are fonts metric, > by the way? I may be raving on as I have had a glass of white wine > (Yellowtail from Aus---not the best but keeps me happy) and I don't know how > many grams or whatever I poured but a vintner said one should pour until it > reached the point where the glass pivots back in....I don't know if there is > a metric measurement for that....is there any research that you know of? > > Again what you wrote is fantastic....can I post it on my facebook page? > > Gail > > PS. How in the world did you find my column in San Diego all the way in > Geelong? > > --- On Tue, 1/4/11, Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> > Subject: Your article CHATFIELD: A measure of our national reluctance > To: [email protected] > Cc: "USMA Metric Association" <[email protected]>, "UKMA Metric Association" > <[email protected]> > Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 1:38 PM > > Dear Gail Chatfield, > > Thank you for your article, "CHATFIELD: A measure of our national reluctance" > at > http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/chatfield/article_4be39a53-6b89-5c01-9920-69eb3eef0374.html > that I have just read and enjoyed. > > Don Hillger is right; metric conversion dramatically holds back the > inevitable metrication upgrade in the USA. See > http://www.metricationmatters.com/metric_conversion.html for some more > thoughts why this is so. > > On the subject of how metric the USA is already, you might be interested in > accepting a challenge to go for a day without using the metric system at all. > This article "Don't use metric" from > http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/DontUseMetric.pdf will get you started. > > Cheers and thanks again for your metrication thoughts for the USA, > > Pat Naughtin LCAMS > Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see > http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html > Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY > 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 LCAMS Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY 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.
