The strange factors in the mile and acre are due to a change in the definition of the foot in mediaeval times. Somewhere between 1266 and 1303 the North German foot of 335 mm was replaced by the Roman foot of 305 mm, a reduction of 10/11. (In some parts of Germany, the foot is known as the shoe.
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John M. Steele Sent: 09 September 2012 11:35 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:51885] Re: 'Bobcat' And the minute and second (based on division by 5 x 12 = 60) bring such joy to time and angle calculations. I think we can all envision how "great" that would be. 5280 ft/3 = 1760 ft, no problem there. Of course there is a problem if you take the mile as 1760 yd. You guys never should have given up the Queen Anne wine gallon. At 231 in³, it is convenient divisable into thirds, sevenths, and elevenths (not by 12 though). Curiously, the mile is also divisible by 11 (so is the acre). Obviously, the rod should have been 11 yd, but it was too hard to carry and someone cut it in half. I would also seven's prominent role in matters of weight. It is a divisor of Imperial stone, hundredweight, and ton (not Customary, however) and the 7000 grains in an av. pound. While there factors of three (and binary powers), I can probably find as many factors of 5, 7, 11. I'm sure your friend, Bobcat, prefers common fractions to decimal. Perhaps if he just realized a millimeter is a convenient 5/127 of an inch, he would find it more acceptable. --- On Sun, 9/9/12, H. Maenen <[email protected]> wrote: From: H. Maenen <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:51884] 'Bobcat' To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, September 9, 2012, 3:41 AM One of the Luddite commentators on the article about the Fahrenheit thermometer is a certain 'Bobcat'. He makes the absurd claim that (Imperial (and USC) are based on the duodecimal system. The only factors involving 12 are 1 foot = 12 inches and 1 troy pound = is 12 troy ounces. Most of these units have binary factors. Try to divide two of the basic units of Imperial, the gallon and the pound avoirdupois, by 3! Try to divide the mile or the long ton by 3! If we were ever to trade in decimal for duodecimal, it would be very, very costly indeed, and that just because 10 cannot be divided by 3. And many 'Imperialists' suffer under the delusion that if we did that, metric would perish (as it would) and Imperial would reign triumphant. It would be a rude shock for them that Imperial would be doomed as well. An entirely new system of units would be built, based on numbers like 1 - 9, Y, Z, 10. Han
