Hi Bill,
Those of us who are nimble with numbers will quickly spot that 850 feet is less than ¼ mile a mile is 5280 feet, so a ¼ mile is greater than 1000 feet, which in turn is greater than 850 feet. However, many who are nimble with numbers prefer the metric system because it is simpler for example: Some years ago a friend and I were trying to estimate the size of sphere of water mass 2000 [British] tons. I made the following approximations one British ton (2240 lbs) is not far off 1 tonne and one tonne of water has a volume of 1 m^3. Lets work in units of 10 metres one cubic unit is 1000 m^3 and contains 1000 tonnes water). The problem reduces to finding the diameter of a sphere radius 2 units. My friend on the other hand started with 2240 pounds in a ton, a cubic foot of water has a mass of 62.5 lbs . I have no problem with the clearance sign it is often used by the driver to ensure that the bus does not clip a bridge or the roof of a garage OK both should be in metres but from a point of view of safety both should be in the same units. In this case I dont know about the US, but in the UK it is mandatory for all vehicles with a height greater than 3 metres to have their height in feet and inches written in such a manner that it can easily be read by the driver. Now that is a mess! Regards Martin From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bill Hooper Sent: 06 July 2012 00:21 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:51746] crazy Olde English measurements I recently spotted a couple example of how Ye Olde English measures does more to confuse than it does to inform. One example is a pair of signs on Interstate 95 near the Jacksonville fFlorida airport. The two adjacent signs state: East Beltway 850 feet, and West Beltway 1/4 mile OK, which exit comes first? Quickly, all you have to do is calculate how many feet in a quarter mile or what fraction of a mile is 850 feet, while driving at the speed limit of 120 km/h (OK, that's 75 mph) in traffic. Good luck taking the correct exit! The second example is a sign in a bus to warn people not to bump their heads. The sign displays: Clearance 10' 3" ft. No misunderstanding there; you are certain that it is meaningless. I don't even know how I would read that. Regards, Bill Hooper Jacksonville FL, USA ========================== SImplification Begins With SI. ==========================
